Science to practice

Tagged neutrons in science and industry

On 22 – 23 April, a scientific and practical conference "The tagged neutron method and neutron technologies: research, development, application in the oil and mining industry" (TNM-NT-2026) was held in Dubna.

Its organizers were JINR, VNIIA named after N. L. Dukhov (Moscow), Diamant LLC (Dubna). The main objectives of the event are the exchange of experience and knowledge on the development and implementation of TNM-NT in practice; development of permanent scientific sites on the most urgent problems within the framework of the conference; organization of the process of transfer of knowledge and achievements by experienced specialists to young scientists and engineers.

Opening the conference, Head of the Innovations and Intellectual Property Department Igor F. Lensky emphasized that the tagged neutron method is included in the list of stories of significant technological success. Its next stage began in the late 1990s from an easy hand of V. G. Kadyshevsky, then Director of the Institute. The team of M. G. Sapozhnikov, N. I. Zamyatin and V. M. Bystritsky was able to develop the method and to obtain many applied results. The next meeting of colleagues from JINR, VNIIA and industrial partners will help to develop more efficient neutron generators, as well as new areas in the oil and gas industries.

For city and Institute media, Igor Feliksovich added, "The topic of using the tagged neutron method has been developing at JINR for a long time, this topic is very fruitful. From the very beginning, the most productive phase developed in cooperation with VNIIA. The fact is that the key element of any facility based on this method includes neutron generators with an integrated alpha detector module. The areas in which the research at the Institute was carried out are very different: on the one hand, methodological research and research in the field of nuclear physics, where a neutron generator is used as a very convenient source of 14-mW neutrons. On the other hand, applied research, where work in the field of security systems, inspection systems is well known. Subsequently, Diamant LLC developed various applications for analysis in the interests of the mining industry and other heavy industry enterprises. Joint projects that go at the intersection of the interests of Diamant LLC and JINR are environmental research, the application of the method in the framework of sustainable development, specifically - control of carbon content in the soil that is very important in terms of the climate agenda and the environmental agenda in general.

From this conference, we are expecting new information, setting tasks in terms of developing the heart of such facilities - a neutron generator, since there are interests in increasing its intensity, reducing the cost. I think that as a result of the exchange of views and in addition to the two named organizations, industrial partners participate, we will enter new projects."

Head of Department of VNIIA named after N. L. Dukhov V. I. Zverev thanked his colleagues from JINR and Diamant LLC for the idea of holding this meeting and the very possibility of holding it. "We have been working together for many years but the technical thought is not in place," he said. “Such meetings are a bridge to the future development of our neutron technologies. We develop alpha detectors and would like to get feedback from you on their operation. Here, we will talk about a wide range of practical issues."

Yury N. Kopach (FLNP) made his first report at the conference "Fundamental research with tagged neutrons in the TANGRA project". The project, launched in 2013, was joined by the employees of FLNP, VBLHEP, DLNP and LRB JINR, NIIA, Diamant LLC, R. Boshkovich Institute (Croatia), INR BAN (Bulgaria), Moscow State University. The speaker presented the main advantages of the method, the scheme of experimental facilities and the results obtained in the TANGRA project.

For the city media, he said, "The tagged neutron method has been known for a long time, it was developed in the 1950s, but for some time, it began to develop widely at JINR. The institute-wide TANGRA project uses this method mainly for basic research, but also for applied research. In terms of the latter, we have an agreement with Diamant LLC on the application of this method for applied purposes and tasks. In order to understand the range of stakeholders and companies that may be potential users of this method or already are, we decided to convene this conference and to invite not physicists, but industrialists, entrepreneurs and to tell them about what we develop and they tell us why they may need it. It is important for us to listen to the speeches of VNIIA representatives that develop and construct neutron generators. This is the most interesting thing for us and I think, for all the members of the community that these generators use, since VNIIA is the only institute in Russia where they know how to develop such very good quality, compact generators. It seems to me that they are interested in getting a response from users. Today, after the first reports, a discussion has already arisen: we made comments and colleagues from VNIIA took them well."

The conference ended with a round table at which participants expressed their views on the prospects for further development of the tagged neutron method and its application. As Yu. N. Kopach highlighted, the representatives of VNIIA and Diamant LLC discussed the possibilities of improving neutron generator control programmes, the representatives of mining enterprises were interested in improving the accuracy of element analysis. Problems related to obtaining permits for work with neutron generators were discussed. The representatives of VNIIA spoke about their new developments and invited JINR employees to visit their organization to learn about the work and research carried out there.

Olga TARANTINA,
Photo by Olesya CHEPURCHENKO