Holdup counters for the Plutonium Fuel Production Facility--PFPF

Conference · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6752590

Miller, M C; Menlove, H O ^[1]; Seya, M; Takahashi, S ^[2]; Adedin-Zadeh, R ^[3]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
2. Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan)
3. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

A neutron coincidence counting system has been developed for assaying plutonium holdup in glove boxes at the automated mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility, PFPF, in Japan. The time-correlated neutron emission rate arising from the spontaneous fission decay of plutonium isotopes is measured and converted to grams of plutonium contained in the glove box. Each detection system consists of a pair of polyethylene slabs containing {sup 3}He proportional counters and associated electronics. These slabs are placed on either side of the glove box that is to be measured for plutonium holdup. The detectors are moved by a portable lifter to map out the coincidence response from the entire glove box. Results of a design optimization study that considered detector efficiency, as well as overall size and weight and how these parameters interface with the procedure of mapping the glove box, are presented. The use of Los Alamos transport code, MCNP, in the detector design optimization and in aid of calibration is also discussed. 2 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6752590
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-90-2312; CONF-9007106-46; ON: DE90015029
• Resource Relation: Conference: Institute of nuclear materials management conference, Los Angeles, CA (USA), 15-18 Jul 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
MIXED OXIDE FUEL FABRICATION PLANTS
SAFEGUARDS
NEUTRON DETECTORS
MONTE CARLO METHOD
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
MEASURING METHODS
CADMIUM
CALIBRATION
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
GLOVEBOXES
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
PLEXIGLAS
POLYETHYLENE GLYCOLS
RESPONSE FUNCTIONS
SHIELDS
STATISTICS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ALCOHOLS
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
ESTERS
FUEL FABRICATION PLANTS
FUNCTIONS
GLYCOLS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PLASTICS
POLYACRYLATES
POLYMERS
POLYVINYLS
RADIATION DETECTORS
SYNTHETIC MATERIALS
055000* - Nuclear Fuels- Safeguards
Inspection
& Accountability
440101 - Radiation Instrumentation- General Detectors or Monitors & Radiometric Instruments
050700 - Nuclear Fuels- Fuels Production & Properties