Performance comparison of an ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source-based PGNAA setup with the KFUPM PGNAA setup

Monte Carlo calculations have been carried out to compare the performance of an ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source-based prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) setup with that of the 2.8 MeV neutron-based PGNAA setup at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) to analyze Portland cement samples. This work is a part of a wide Monte Carlo studies being conducted at KFUPM in search of a more efficient neutron source for its 2.8 MeV neutrons, from the D(d,n) reaction, based PGNAA facility. In this study an ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source-based PGNAA setup was simulated. For comparison, the diameter of a cylindrical external moderator of the ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source, based PGNAA setup, was assumed to be similar to that used in the KFUPM PGNAA setup. The results of this study revealed that although the optimum geometry of the ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source-based setup is similar to that of the KFUPM PGNAA facility, the performance of the ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source-based setup is slightly poorer than that of the 2.8 MeV neutron-based setup.