A comparison of the neutron thermalization and reflection methods used for bulk hydrogen analysis

The advantages and limitations of the slowing down of epithermal neutrons and the thermal neutron reflection methods were compared for bulk hydrogen analysis. In both cases, the same sample dimensions were used, i.e. 10 cm diameter and 8 cm height. It was found that the sensitivity of the slowing down method is higher by a factor of ∼20 in average and the matrix effect can be neglected as compared to the neutron reflection technique. The simultaneous application of the two methods renders the determination of the H content and the C/H atomic ratio possible. The effect of spatial distribution of hydrogen in the matrix to be investigated on the number of reflected neutrons was also studied.