D. P. Chowdhury

Excitation functions of heavy ion induced nuclear reactions between 16O ion beam and natural copper: Measurements, analysis and its applicability in TLA study

Abstract Experimental cross sections of a number of reaction channels of 16O ion induced reactions on natural copper target have been determined at different energies in the range of 50–110 MeV of 16O projectile by stacked foil activation technique. The cross sections have been compared with theoretical calculations using the computer code ALICE-91. The experimental values compared reasonably well with the corresponding theoretical estimates. The results indicate no significant role of incomplete fusion process in the 16O induced reactions on natural copper in the energy range of ⩽7 MeV/nucleon. As heavy ion beam produces an extremely narrow layer of activities in the surface of a material, these reactions could be useful for thin layer activation (TLA) study. The purpose of this work is to apply heavy ion activation in TLA technique for the study of surface wear with increased sensitivity.

Determination of elemental concentrations in environmental plant samples by instrumental neutron activation analysis

The intake of leafy vegetables in daily diet is very important to meet our nutritional needs. Vegetables provide the essential elements which are necessary and recommended for human growth. However, due to rapid industrialization and urbanization our environment becomes polluted and this affects the normal growth of agricultural products and composition of environmental species. The elemental concentrations present in the environmental samples are good indicators to assess the toxicological levels due to pollution affects. In the present work we have analysed several vegetable plant samples by instrumental neutron activation analysis to determine the elemental concentrations at major, minor and trace levels. The leafy vegetables like spinach, red leafy veagetable, pui, gourd leaf, lettuce and katoua were chosen as these are extensively consumed by local peple in eastern part of India. We have determined 15 elements in the above mentioned vegetable samples and some of these are essential elements and some are toxic elements. It was found that Na and K were present as major elements, Fe and Zn as minor elements and As, Ce, Cr, Co, La, Mo, Rb, Sc, Sm, Sr as trace elements. The concentration level of Cr was found to be higher than that of recommended value certified by WHO and National environment quality control for human consumption. The validation of our analytical results have been performed by the Z-score tests through the determination of concentrations of the elements of interest in certified reference materials.

Application of thin layer activation technique for surface wear studies in Zr based materials using charged particle induced nuclear reactions

Abstract Thin layer activation (TLA) technique has been developed in Zr based alloy materials, e.g., zircaloy II, using 40 MeV α-particles from Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre at Calcutta. A brief description of the methodology of TLA technique is presented to determine the surface wear. The sensitivity of the measurement of surface wear in zircaloy material is found to be 0.22±0.05 μm . The surface wear is determined by TLA technique in zircaloy material which is used in pressurised heavy water reactor and the values have been compared with that obtained by conventional technique for the analytical validation of the TLA technique.

A study of the surface erosion of zircaloy material during laser ablation process by thin layer activation technique

Abstract The thin layer activation (TLA) technique was applied to study the surface erosion of zircaloy clad material during laser ablation process by producing a suitable γ-ray emitting radioisotope in the clad surface using 40 MeV α-particles. This paper reports the rate of surface erosion of zircaloy as a function of deposited laser energy in the range of a few hundred of millijoules to a few kilojoule. The minimum detection limit was found to be 80 ± 25 nm in the measurement of surface loss of material due to laser exposure by TLA technique.

Determination of rare earth elements by charged particle activation analysis in geological materials

The rare earth elements (REE), Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Ho, Er and Tm have been determined by charged particle activation analysis using 40 MeV a-particles through radiochemical approach. The radiochemical separation of REE as a group has been carried out from the bulk matrix. It has been shown from the theoretical computation that the products obtained from (a,xn) reactions (x = 1, 2, 3) are more suitable compared to those from (a,pyn) reactions (y = 0, 1, 2) due to the former having higher cross section (of the order of thousand millibarns).

Determination of oxygen impurity in high purity materials by charged particle activation analysis using alpha projectiles

Abstract40 MeV α-particles have been used to determine oxygen impurity at ppm levels in silicon, copper, and stainless steel, through the radiochemical separation of18F from the matrix. The separation of18F has been carried out by two techniques, viz.(1) distillation of H2SiF6 and (2) precipitation of KBF4 and some modification has been applied in the separation, depending on the nature of interferences from the matrix. Instrumental approach was also carried out to determine the oxygen impurity at ≥ 100 ppm in Si matrix because this approach is not possible in Cu and stainless steel samples due to matrix activity.