An improved method for bulk hydrogen analysis using epithermal neutrons

The advantages of direct detection of thermalized neutrons as compared to the activation method used for bulk hydrogen analysis have been investigated. In both cases samples of 10 cm diameter and 8 cm height dimensions were used. It was found that the new method based on a small BF3 counter placed along the central line of the cylindrical samples renders the determination of hydrogen contents routinely possible using a few minutes measuring time and a low intensity (not, vert, similar18.5 GBq) neutron source. A preliminary investigation has shown that the direct detection of neutrons can be used for analysis of samples as large as about 20 l. Details of this technique and its applications will be discussed in the next paper.