A Method to Determine the Minimum Cost Measurement Plan Consistent with any Feasible Limit of Error on MUF

Measured values for all flow and inventory quantities are required for nuclear materials safeguards and are necessary for nuclear materials control. The quality (accuracy and precision) of these measured values provide the basis for a standard for material control. A prerequisite to establishing this standard is that the streams or strata measured should be identified as to typical batch sizes and associated measurement errors.* The measurements may be made by sampling and analysis or by nondestructive assay techniques. Each sampling and analysis technique has random and systematic errors associated with the bulk measurement, the sample,and the analysis. Each non-destructive assay technique also has a random and systematic error associated with it. Consequently, a vast number of measurement strategies are available for measuring feed, product, discard, recycle and intermediate products, to generate a material balance and the error (LEMUF) associated with the balance.** In addition, each bulk measurement, sample taken,and analysis has an associated cost, and hence, each measurement strategy generates a total cost. Given the cost associated with each of the measurement variables, an algorithm has been written that seeks the minimum cost solution for any feasible limit of error. Many strategies are dominated in the sense that the same LE can be attained at a lower cost or a smaller LEMUF can be achieved at the same cost. This paper briefly describes the algorithm and presents two examples of its application.