Feasibility of Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy Applied in the Field of Nuclear Safety

Uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) is the primary form in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle commonly used for the uranium storage and the uranium enrichment. UF₆ is highly reactive to the water in atmosphere, forming hydrogen fluoride. Therefore, the measurement of UF₆ abundance and HF concentration can provide the investigation for the nuclear accident and nuclear safeguard, which is significant in the field of nuclear safety. Recently, the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) grows quickly and is widely used in the measurement of gas concentration and isotope ratio. TDLAS have the advantages of time saving and real-time measurements. This review was focused on the progress of the measurements of the abundance for UF₆ and the concentration for HF, then made an analysis on improving the measurement accuracy and the detection sensitivity. The application prospects of TDLAS technique in the field of nuclear safety were presented.