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Title: Detecting pin diversion from pressurized water reactors spent fuel assemblies

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1338908

Detecting diversion of spent fuel from Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) by determining possible diversion including the steps of providing a detector cluster containing gamma ray and neutron detectors, inserting the detector cluster containing the gamma ray and neutron detectors into the spent fuel assembly through the guide tube holes in the spent fuel assembly, measuring gamma ray and neutron radiation responses of the gamma ray and neutron detectors in the guide tube holes, processing the gamma ray and neutron radiation responses at the guide tube locations by normalizing them to the maximum value among each set of responses and taking the ratio of the gamma ray and neutron responses at the guide tube locations and normalizing the ratios to the maximum value among them and producing three signatures, gamma, neutron, and gamma-neutron ratio, based on these normalized values, and producing an output that consists of these signatures that can indicate possible diversion of the pins from the spent fuel assembly.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
Assignee:
Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (Livermore, CA)
Patent Number(s):
9,543,046
Application Number:
12/619,791
OSTI ID:
1338908
Resource Relation:
Patent File Date: 2009 Nov 17
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (7)

Transfer Machine for Nuclear Reactor patent December 1971
Method and apparatus for measuring irradiated fuel profiles patent June 1982
Method for monitoring irradiated nuclear fuel using Cerenkov radiation patent June 1983
Gripper assembly for inserting and removing burnable absorber rods and thimble plugs in a nuclear reactor fuel assembly patent September 1988
Monitor for measuring both the gamma spectrum and neutrons emitted by an object, such as spent nuclear fuel patent March 2000
Detector and method for inspecting a sealed nuclear storage container patent April 2009
Micro neutron detectors patent-application March 2006