Proceedings of 20094th International Conference on Computer Science & Education

A Computerized Concrete Raw Meal Analyzer Using a D-D Neutron

Generator

Xuesong Zhang* Daowen Cheng, Deshan Gu, Ming Wang

and Linmao Liu** Department of CIS
Department of Computer Science
Department of Physics California State University
Southeast Missouri State University
Northeast Normal University Los Angeles, CA 90032-8 120 USA
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 USA
Changchun, China ming.wang@calstatela.edu
xzhang@semo.edu xzhang@semo.edu

Abstract --This paper introduces afast, real-time, on-line cement
raw meal analyzer. The analyzer uses prompt gamma neutron
activation analysis (PGNAA) technique with a low-cost D-D neutron
generator that can give stable neutron yield. A computer system
controls the measurement and data analysis process. It is much faster
in analyzing the main ingredients of cement raw meal than those
analyses using conventional chemical methods. The analyzer retains
the advantages of the newer type of analyzer that uses the PGNAA
technique with radioactive isotopes as their neutron sources.
However, by using a D-D neutron generator as the neutron source,
our analyzer has eliminated the potential health and environment
hazards caused by the analyzers that use radioactive isotopes as their
neutron sources. Theref ore it is much safer for the instrument
operators and the environment. The rapid measurement and accurate
analysis of the main ingredients of cement raw meal in cement
production process enable it to be a real-time on-line measurement
system. The experimental results from on-site tests in three cement
companies have shown very prom ising potential.
Keywords-PGNAA Technique, Analyzer, D-D Neutron
Generator, Thermal Neutrons Capture Reactions, Radioactive
Isotopes.
1. INTRODUCTION
Fast and accurate measurement of the main active
ingredients in cement raw meal plays an essential role in a
high quality cement production process. Identifying
accurately the main ingredients of the cement raw meal and
adjusting the ingredients rapidly both affect directly the
quality of the final cement product.
Many different methods and equipment designs have been
developed over the last many years. Some use the
conventional chemical method, whereas others use atomic
absorption or X-ray diffraction. A few commercial
applications of analyzers use the PGNAA technique [1] [2].
Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. The ones
that use the PGNAA technique have the obvious advantage of
high analyzing speed so that they can be used as the real-time
on-line analyzers. The neutron sources they use, however , are
radioactive isotopes. The isotope neutron sources, constantly
radiating neutrons, have the disadvantage of being difficult to
transport. They pose a health hazard of contaminating the
environment in case of traffic accidents or terrorist attacks. In
the working environment after the equipment installation,
safeguarding the neutron source is imperative to prevent the
potential environmental hazard that might result from theft or
other unwarranted human contact.
To take advantage of the PGNAA techniqu e and avoid the
potential hazard caused by the radioactive sources, we have
designed and made a cement raw meal analyzer that applies
the PGNAA technique , but uses a D-D neutron generator to
replace the radioactive isotope neutron sources. Both the
analyzing speed and accuracy from many on-site tests have
shown very consistent, promising results.
The main reason for using a neutron generator as the
neutron source is that it is much safer than radioactive
isotopes. When the generator is turned off, neutron radiation
stops very quickly, too. Even during the operation, it is safe to
the environment and to the operators of the equipment. The
main problem in the past had been the issue of getting very
stable neutron yield during the operation. We have solved this
problem through many years of research and manufacture of
neutron generators.
The main active ingredients in typical cement raw meal in
the cement plants where we have tested our analyzer are
calcium oxide, alumina, ferric oxide and silicon dioxide. Until
recently, as have many other cement plants in the world, those
cement plants have been analyzing the active ingredients of
cement raw meal through the conventional chemical method.
The main disadvantage of the conventional chemical method
is the low speed. Statistically, the small sample it analyzes also
makes the method less representative of the overall, large
quantity of cement raw meal in the cement production process .
Through recent years ' research, we have developed a
computer-controlled on-line analyzer that uses D-D neutron
generator. The analyzer uses the PGNAA technique. The
technique has found many applications in different industries
and areas [3] - [10]. This automated neutron analyzer can
measure the ingredients very rapidly by using large samples of
several kilograms , whereas the conventional chemical method
analyzes only a small sample of a few milligrams to a few
grams. Because of the obvious speed advantage, many
institutes have engaged in the research and development of the
technique in cement ingredients analysis [11] - [15].

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 Proceedings of 2009 4th International Conference on Computer Science & Education
As a pioneer in neutron generator research and production
in China, we have developed this new generation of analyzer
that can be used in many different fields, including cement
ingredients analysis. A different instrument that uses D-T
neutron generator we designed and made has been used in
commercial coal industry in analyzing the ingredients of coal
successfully [16].
II. FUNDAMENTALS
The PGNAA technique uses neutron beams to bombard the
sample to be tested to cause the sample's nuclei to react with
the neutron beams. The neutron-nuclear reactions will cause
the energy to be released in the form of gamma-rays. A unique
spectrum of the gamma-rays represents the unique element
analyzed. By detecting and analyzing the gamma-ray spectrum
accurately, the ingredients of the analyzed sample can be
measured accurately.
The neutron beams induce mainly inelastic scattering
reactions and thermal neutron capture reactions. A few
different types of neutron generators are available to acquire
neutron beams needed for such reactions. Because different
elements have different energy thresholds, analyzing certain
elements properly and efficiently requires a proper type of
neutron generator according to the elements that need to be
measured. In analyzing raw cement meal, we know that it
consists of mainly calcium oxide, alumina, ferric oxide and
silicon dioxide. For example, for carbon and oxygen, the
energy thresholds (Eth) from such reactions are expressed in
the formulas (1) and (2).
~n+l~C=l~C + n' e; = 4.80Mev (1)
~n+l;o=l;O+n r; = 6.5IMev (2)
Where n represents a neutron, C represents a carbon atom,
and 0 represents an oxygen atom respectively. The formulas
(1) and (2) show that in inelastic reactions, a neutron interacts
with a carbon or an oxygen atomic nucleus and loses some of
its energy. The energy lost by the neutron will be released in
the form of gamma rays.
Cement raw meal has a high content of carbon and oxygen.
There are not many neutron generators we can choose from for
this purpose. The most popular candidate is either a D-T
neutron generator or a D-D neutron generator. The energy of
neutrons produced by a D-T neutron generator is about
14Mev, and the D-D neutron generator produces the neutrons
which have the energy of about 3Mev. Theoretically, we can
use either type of neutron generator as the neutron source.
However, if we use a D-T neutron generator, the cost would be
much higher, which is mainly because the high cost of tritium.
The protection of the working environment also makes it cost
more because of the high energy and high neutron yield will
mean high radiation of both neutrons and gamma rays, too.
The protection for higher radiation leads to the higher cost and
clumsier instrument. We have chosen the D-D neutron
generator for this application. A D-D neutron generator has a
much lower radiation level of both neutron and gamma rays;
978-1-4244-3521-0/09/$25.00 ©2009 IEEE
therefore it will cost much less to make the analyzer and it is
much safer to the operators and the working environment, too.
Even without radiation shield protection, the safe working
distance is only about 1 meter from the source. Deuterium is
not radioactive, and it does not present a significant toxicity
hazard during storage and transportation. Once the power is
turned off, the radiation stops very quickly, too. The process
that uses a D-D neutron source can be explained as follow:
The reactions between neutrons and nuclei are mainly
inelastic scattering reactions and thermal neutron capture
reactions. The 3Mev neutrons generated by the D-D neutron
generator bombard all the elements in the sample and interact
with the nuclei of the elements. The inelastic scattering
reaction takes place over a very short period of time (10-8 to
10-7 seconds) with the reaction emitting characteristic gamma-
rays. After several collisions, neutrons decrease their ener~y;
hence they become thermal neutrons which last about 10- to
10-5 seconds. Some thermal neutrons diffuse in the cement by
elastic scattering reactions and the others are captured by some
nuclei in the sample to emit characteristic gamma-rays via
thermal neutron capture reactions. The thermal neutron
capture reaction can be expressed as follows:
Where X could be anyone of the elements analyzed, by
capturing a neutron, the nucleus of the element gains a neutron
and releases energy by gamma-rays. By analysis of the energy
of gamma rays and the areas of the peaks detected by the
spectrum analyzer, the type and quantity of the elements in the
cement raw meal can be determined. The characteristic peak
area of an element is represented by the net counts obtained by
a multi-channel analyzer (MCA), denoted as N. The
relationship between net counts and the measured element
content, denoted by G, can be expressed as:
GNL
N == - - ((JOE].at (4)
A
Where N L is the Loschmidt constant, A is the atomic mass,
<p is the neutron flux density, (J is the cross section of the
neutron, e is the detection efficiency of the y-ray detector,) is
the quantum yields of gamma-ray, a is the isotopic
abundance of the element, and t is time. In practical
applications, the parameters qJ, (J, c,), t, A, and N L are all
constants. If N is used to express the total area of the
characteristic peaks, we can establish the following
relationship between G and N:
G=pN+q (5)
In this formula, both p and q are coefficients determined by
experiments, and q is an added calibration constant. There is a
linear relationship between the net counts of the characteristic
peak and the quantity of a specific element. This model has
greatly simplified the calculations of the element analysis.
465
 Proceedings of 2009 4th International Conference on Computer Science & Education

III. SET-UP OF THE ANALYZER IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The block diagram of the experimental equipment setup is The analyzer was calibrated by standard samples according
shown in Fig. 1. In the figure, the shaded area is the shielding to National Standard of China, which is compatible with the
material inside the enclosure. The D-D neutron generator is ISO standard. The standard samples were sealed inside
placed on top of the sample box and the BGO (Bismuth identical containers. Our mathematical model was established
germinate, Bi4~QI2) gamma ray detector is placed according to the standard samples. Fig.2 shows a typical
underneath the sample box. One of the main amplifiers spectrum of a cement sample measured by our D-D neutron
collects the information from the BGO sensor and feeds the analyzer. In that figure, the X-coordinate represents the energy
amplified signals to the computer controlled spectrum analyzer of gamma-ray in Mev; the Y-coordinate represents the counts
MCA, which is a 4096 channel MCA. The general from the MCA; and the label "count*IO" means to multiply
measurement process is as follows: the number of the Y-coordinate by a factor of 10. Table 1
shows a typical experiment result obtained from a standard
(I) The cement raw meal sample collected on site is sample. The numbers in the first column are the elements we
placed inside the iron box in the center of the try to measure by the analyzer; the numbers in the second
chamber; (2) the instruments that are remotely column are the theoretical characteristic peaks corresponding
connected to the sample chamber are turned on; (3) to the related elements (we identify them in the symbols in the
the remote controlled neutron generator is turned third column); and the numbers in the last column are the
on; (4) the computer controlled multi-channel measured energy windows of characteristic peaks from the
analyzer-MCA analyzes the information from the gamma-ray spectrum. The whole measurement and analysis
main amplifier. The reactions will happen as time is about 15 minutes whereas the conventional chemical
described earlier. The computer software will method would have taken more than 8 hours.
analyze the information from the multi-channel
analyzer to get required measurement results. The Table 1. Regions of Interest of r -Ray Spectrum
neutron yield of the neutron generator is 106 nls
Element Characteristic Peak Identification Energy Window of
and the stability of the neutron yield (the neutron Energy Characteristic Peak
tube over its lifetime of 2000 hours) is less than (Mev)
0.5%. (Mev)

Ca 6.42 A ca 6.30 - 6.53

A, l.01 AAI 0.94 - 1.07

Control console of
r---;>{the Neutron generatOJ Fe 7.63 A Fe 7.51 - 7.74

I Counter s, 4.93 A Si 4.81 - 5.04

.:B~~~t~(j:: : ....... According to the data and the spectra of standard cement
::l~~i~fli~i: : .i::o ;::
samples, the following linearity regression equations are
obtained for the following ingredients:
..... .....
..... .... ..... ....
<I) ZnSdetectol
. . . . . 'r-'' ;",;1,' Z~iiiil.:;,,;,
' '' " " i .

Pea = (27.273lxA ea / n-7.764~ /W (6)

Cemen
box
PAl =(11.3614xAAl ln-146298~/W (7)

. 0l....BG~detector:.» >
::::(;~~~t : slii~ldili:g : : :: : : : : : : : :: :: : : : : : : : :: : :: : :
PFe = (47.5279xA F/ n-69.21 O~/W (8)

P.\i = (68.3828xA si / n-15Q820~ /W (9)

Where Pea. PAl, PFe and PSi are the relative mass ratio of
Fig.! Synoptic scheme of measurement system
calcium oxide, alumina, ferric oxide and silicon dioxide
respectively (%), n is neutron flux, and W is the mass of the
cement sample. By using above linearity regression equations,
we analyzed the cement samples in the cement factories in 3
cities. The results are shown in Table 2, 3, 4 and 5
respectively. The different samples have the different

466 978- I-4244-352 I-0/09 /$25 .00 ©2009 IEEE

 Proceedings of 2009 4th International Conference on Computer Science & Education

Table 5 Measurement Result of Silicon Dioxide

Counls'10
8000 Cement Measurement Mass Value of Deviation
Sample (date) Percentage Assay (%)

..
III
c
:J
6000

4000
(code)

050928f 2005.09.28
of Silicon
Dioxide (%)
23.62±0.21
(%)

23.91±0.26 0.29
0 05100 9b 2005.10.09 20.69±OA3 20.29±0.38 -OAO
o 2000 05 1120a 2005.11.20 21.51±0.37 21.20±0.21 -0.31
051215d 2005.12 .15 22.90±0.29 23.27±0.33 0.37
060117f 2006.01.1 7 24.3 1±0.30 24.05±0.2 7 -0.26
0

0 2 4 6 8 10 V. SUMMARY
Energy ofgamma-ray IMev We presented a new type of cement raw meal analyzer that
uses a D-D neutron generator as the neutron source. We have
used modem computer hardware and software to control the
analyzer and to collect and analyze the data. The analyzer not
Fig. 2 Typical spectrum ofa cement sample by D-D neutron generator only measured the ingredients in the samples accurately, but
also greatly shortened the measurement time «15 min). With
an analyzer using the conventional chemical method, it would
subscripts of f, b, a, and d. Compared with the have taken hours (> 8 hours) to perform the same task. The
conventional chemical analysis method, the measurement improved measurement speed is 32 times faster than that of
errors of calcium oxide, alumina, ferric oxide and silicon the conventional chemical method. Therefore, the new
dioxide were less than 0.60 wt%, 0040 wt%, 0040 wt% and analyzer can be used as a real-tim e online analyzer to get fast
0040 wt%, respectively. feedback to guide the quality control of cement production.
More importantly, the deployment of a neutron generator in
Table 2 Measurement Result of Calcium Oxide the analyzer to replace the radioactive isotopes also poses
Cement Measurement Mass Value of Deviatio
negligible health and environment hazards. We are looking
forward to applying the technology in new applications in
Sample (date) Percentage of Assay n
other areas in the near future.
(code) Calcium (%) (%)
Oxide (%)
050928f 2005.09.28 63.07±0.19 62.5 1±0.26 -0.56
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PROFILE OF AUTHORS

Dr. Xuesong Zhang_(Corresponding author in US) received his Ph.D

from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1991. He has done
several different research projects related to high T c superconductors,
low-temperature semiconductor physics, computer applications, and
neutron applications in the past 25 years. He is currently an associate
professor at the Department of Computer Science at Southeast
Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau. His main research
interests lie in the issues of computer applications, computer
education, artificial intelligence, software development, and neutron
applications.

Daowen Cheng received his hachelor degree in 1998 and his master
degree in 2004, both from Northeast Normal University, where he is
currently working for his Ph.D. degree. His main research areas lie in
the issues of industrial applications.

Deshan Gu is a professor at the Department of Physics of Northeast

Normal University, China, He has been working in the area of
vacuum technologies and neutron applications for more than 20
years. He is currently with the Research Institute of Radiation
Technology, Northeast Normal University, China. His main research
interest lie in the issues related to neutron generator and their
applications.

Linmao Liu (Corresponding author in China) is a professor at the

Department of Physics of Northeast Normal Univeristy, China. He
received his masters degree in nuclear physics from the Department
of Physics of Northeast Normal University in 1983. He is currently
the head of Radiation Research Institute of Northeast Normal
University, China. His research interest lie in the areas of neutrons
and their applications in industry.

Dr. Ming Wang currently teaches in the Department of Computer

Information Systems at California State University. She received her
Ph. D. from Southern Illinois University in 1993 and taught computer
science previously at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in
Daytona Beach, Florida. She has more than 20 publications in
refereed journals and books, and a dozen of publications in

468 978-1-4244-3521-0/09/$25.00 ©2009 IEEE