Identification of unknown spent nuclear fuel with factor analysis for nuclear forensic purpose

The proposed study focuses on the development of multivariate statistical analysis to interpret the comparative signatures of spent nuclear fuel. A database was built with Uranium and Plutonium isotopic compositions of spent nuclear fuel samples through simulation. These samples are in different reactor types, initial fuel enrichments and burn-ups. As a preliminary study, factor analysis is applied to the database to certify the feasibility of the possible origin-determination work. At first, dimension reduction and visualization work is realized to decide the possibility for classification. Then, some known samples are assumed to be unknown to further study the possible capabilities for quantitative attribution, containing the determination of initial fuel enrichment and burn-up. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.