Optimization of PGNAA device and algorithm for testing basicity index of sinter mixture

• Published in: Nuclear science and techniques Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 46 - 57
• Main Authors: Zhao, Long, Xu, Xu, Lu, Jing-Bin, Gong, Ya-Lin, Song, Qing-Feng, Shang, Qing-Min, Zhang, Wei, Yin, De-You, Li, Yan-Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 2021; College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China; Dandong Dongfang Measurement and Control Technology Co., Ltd, Dandong 118002, China%College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China%Dandong Dongfang Measurement and Control Technology Co., Ltd, Dandong 118002, China
• Subjects: Energy; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Physics; Sinter; Basicity; Monte Carlo simulation; Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis
• ISSN: 1001-8042; 2210-3147
• DOI: 10.1007/s41365-020-00838-y

Sinter is the main raw material in the blast furnace iron-making process, and basicity (CaO/SiO 2 ) is an important quality index of sinter. Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis is a multi-elemental online detection technology that has been successfully applied in cement, coal, etc. Compared with cement as a raw material, sinter exhibits poor moderation ability and a large neutron absorption cross section. Therefore, cement detection devices are not suitable for sinter mixture detection. In this study, a prompt gamma neutron activation analysis equipment used for testing cement was re-optimized to render it suitable for measuring a sinter mixture. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the comprehensive detection efficiency of the detection device improved by 71.52%. Because of the gamma-ray self-shielding effect of the sinter mixture, the detection errors of CaO and SiO 2 are significant. By applying the gamma-ray self-shielding correction algorithm, the detection accuracies improved, and their linear correlation coefficients R 2 exceeded 0.99. Furthermore, by applying an improved analyzer to a sintering plant, the first-grade product rate of the factory increased by 4.64%.