Determining the density of liquid using gamma scattering method

• Published in: Applied radiation and isotopes 2020-09, Vol.163, p.109197-109197, Article 109197
• Main Authors: Chuong, Huynh Dinh, Hai Yen, Nguyen Thi, My Le, Nguyen Thi, Tam, Hoang Duc
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Density; Gamma scattering; MCNP; Monte Carlo; NaI(Tl)
• ISSN: 0969-8043; 1872-9800
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109197

This study proposes an approach to determine the density of a liquid based on the gamma scattering method. The liquids used to determine density were poured in a cylindrical tube. This approach requires that the ratio R (the ratio of area under a single scattering peak for a liquid to that for water) increase linearly with an increase in the density of the liquid. In a certain range of density, a linear relationship was obtained between the ratio R and density, as described by a linear calibration curve with coefficients of slope and intercept, for the investigated tube diameters. In particular, the values of the slope and intercept could be expressed as mathematical functions of the diameter of the tube. For a given tube, the coefficients of slope and intercept of the linear calibration curve were obtained based on these functions, which helped determine the density of the liquid. The reliability of the proposed approach was evaluated by using it to calculate the densities of five liquids—n-hexane, diethyl ether, acetonitrile, toluene, and glycerol—using tubes with inner diameters of 1.8 cm, 2.25 cm, and 2.68 cm. The results show that the maximum relative deviation between the reference and the measured densities was 4.3%. •The dependence of ratio R on the density of a liquid for tubes of various diameters was studied.•The linear calibration curve for determining the density of the liquid was constructed using a Monte Carlo simulation.•An approach was proposed to determine the density of a liquid.