Optimization of sample height in cylindrical geometry for gamma spectrometry measurements

A model was developed to determine the optimum height in cylindrical geometry samples, to measure by gamma spectrometry a given fraction of the maximum number of possible detections. The method was applied to samples of water and seabed sediment of the Bay of Cádiz (Southwestern Spain). The influence of sample density was also studied. An important goal of this method is to avoid measuring the different efficiencies for multiple heights. The method was validated in the usual energy range for environmental samples (100–1700 keV).