Nuclear material enrichment estimation based on ²⁵²Cf source-driven noise analysis

The paper investigates the relationship between the change of nuclear sample enrichment and the relative position of detectors of the 252Cf source-driven noise analysis system. A Monte Carlo numerical simulation with varied 235U enrichment (85.15%, 90.15%, 93.15%) and different relative positions has been conducted, and the cross-covariance between data of paired detectors was calculated. The results show that the amplitude of cross-covariance improves with 235U enrichment, which coincides with reference results. Thus it is feasible to estimate the nuclear material enrichment based on the cross-covariance amplitude of detectors.