Hyperspectral imaging suggests potential for rapid quantification of fission products in spent nuclear fuel

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AIRS-NFM

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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89338-w
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Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Keywords

Hyperspectral imaging, Uranium dioxide, Post-irradiation examination, Nuclear fission, Waste management

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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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Hyperspectral imaging suggests potential for rapid quantification of fission products in spent nuclear fuel. / Dunphy, R. David; Parker, Andrew J.; Bandala, Manuel et al.
In: Scientific Reports, Vol. 15, No. 1, 5434, 13.02.2025, p. 5434.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Bibtex

@article{c442e58e12e4453db708ad9060b12b4d,

title = "Hyperspectral imaging suggests potential for rapid quantification of fission products in spent nuclear fuel",

abstract = "An analysis of sintered uranium dioxide has been conducted using a hyperspectral camera sensitive to short-wave infrared wavelengths in the range 949–2472 nm. Three groups of sintered UO2 nuclear fuel pellets were prepared and analysed, with stable sub-group surrogates introduced at the preparation stage to emulate the presence of fission product elements. Results show a clear, consistent, and reproducible spectral response across the pellet groups for pure UO2. Furthermore, the addition of fission product elements is observed to affect the shortwave infrared response, causing an overall flattening of the spectra. We have shown that this spectral change is correlated significantly with the presence of lanthanides in the fuel matrix. This result could have important potential in post-irradiation examination for quantifying nuclear fuel burn-up and radiotoxicity at discharge, as the hyperspectral imaging setup allows multiple (> 20) samples to be analysed in a single image, captured in under 30 s.",

keywords = "Hyperspectral imaging, Uranium dioxide, Post-irradiation examination, Nuclear fission, Waste management",

author = "Dunphy, {R. David} and Parker, {Andrew J.} and Manuel Bandala and Stuart Bennet and Colin Boxall and Patrick Chard and Neil Cockbain and David Eaves and Dave Goddard and Xiandong Ma and Taylor, {C. James} and Richard Wilbraham and Jaime Zabalza and Paul Murray and Joyce, {Malcolm J.}",

year = "2025",

month = feb,

day = "13",

doi = "10.1038/s41598-025-89338-w",

language = "English",

volume = "15",

pages = "5434",

journal = "Scientific Reports",

issn = "2045-2322",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hyperspectral imaging suggests potential for rapid quantification of fission products in spent nuclear fuel

AU - Dunphy, R. David

AU - Parker, Andrew J.

AU - Bandala, Manuel

AU - Bennet, Stuart

AU - Boxall, Colin

AU - Chard, Patrick

AU - Cockbain, Neil

AU - Eaves, David

AU - Goddard, Dave

AU - Ma, Xiandong

AU - Taylor, C. James

AU - Wilbraham, Richard

AU - Zabalza, Jaime

AU - Murray, Paul

AU - Joyce, Malcolm J.

PY - 2025/2/13

Y1 - 2025/2/13

N2 - An analysis of sintered uranium dioxide has been conducted using a hyperspectral camera sensitive to short-wave infrared wavelengths in the range 949–2472 nm. Three groups of sintered UO2 nuclear fuel pellets were prepared and analysed, with stable sub-group surrogates introduced at the preparation stage to emulate the presence of fission product elements. Results show a clear, consistent, and reproducible spectral response across the pellet groups for pure UO2. Furthermore, the addition of fission product elements is observed to affect the shortwave infrared response, causing an overall flattening of the spectra. We have shown that this spectral change is correlated significantly with the presence of lanthanides in the fuel matrix. This result could have important potential in post-irradiation examination for quantifying nuclear fuel burn-up and radiotoxicity at discharge, as the hyperspectral imaging setup allows multiple (> 20) samples to be analysed in a single image, captured in under 30 s.

AB - An analysis of sintered uranium dioxide has been conducted using a hyperspectral camera sensitive to short-wave infrared wavelengths in the range 949–2472 nm. Three groups of sintered UO2 nuclear fuel pellets were prepared and analysed, with stable sub-group surrogates introduced at the preparation stage to emulate the presence of fission product elements. Results show a clear, consistent, and reproducible spectral response across the pellet groups for pure UO2. Furthermore, the addition of fission product elements is observed to affect the shortwave infrared response, causing an overall flattening of the spectra. We have shown that this spectral change is correlated significantly with the presence of lanthanides in the fuel matrix. This result could have important potential in post-irradiation examination for quantifying nuclear fuel burn-up and radiotoxicity at discharge, as the hyperspectral imaging setup allows multiple (> 20) samples to be analysed in a single image, captured in under 30 s.

KW - Hyperspectral imaging

KW - Uranium dioxide

KW - Post-irradiation examination

KW - Nuclear fission

KW - Waste management

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-025-89338-w

DO - 10.1038/s41598-025-89338-w

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 39948394

VL - 15

SP - 5434

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

SN - 2045-2322

IS - 1

M1 - 5434

ER -

Research

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