The use of known Fe content as a flux monitor in neutron activation analysis

Abstract

A method is described to correct for the gradient in intensity of the irradiating neutron flux, which is a potential source of error in neutron activation analysis. For rock samples containing >3% total FeO, the Fe content can be determined by X-ray spectrometry with a coefficient of variation of close to 0.25%. This error rises to ∼0.5% for samples containing 1% total FeO. In instrumental neutron activation analysis, the two strong Fe photopeaks at 1099 and 1292 keV can be measured with a comparable precision. Hence the Fe content determined by X-ray spectrometry can be used to correct for the effects of flux gradient in activation analysis. Replicate analyses of a sample of chilled margin ..