METHOD TO MEASURE HYDROGEN-BEARING CONSTITUENT IN A MATERIALUSING NEUTRON SPECTROSCOPY

摘要

A non-destructive method for quantifying the hydrogen content or a hydrogen- bearing constituent in a material is disclosed. The method is based on the principle of moderating neutron spectroscopy which is particularly suited fo r analyzing materials containing the high scattering/capture cross-section element of hydrogen. The method comprises the steps of exposing a neutron moderator to a beam of radiation comprising neutrons and measuring thermal neutron intensities at a plurality of locations in the moderator. These measured intensities reflect the energy distribution of the beam of radiatio n incident upon the moderator. Thus, by measuring these intensities with the material present, and comparing these intensities to a model, to those of a composition standard(s), or combinations thereof, the hydrogen content of th e material is quantified. Furthermore, the hydrogen-bearing constituent of the material is quantified by knowing or estimating the chemical or molecular structure of the material.