Real-Time In-Pile Acoustic Measurement Infrastructure at the Advanced Test Reactor

Journal Article · Tue Feb 14 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Nuclear Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2016.1273704· OSTI ID:1469593

Agarwal, Vivek ^[1]; Smith, James A. ^[1]

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1. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

The core of any nuclear reactor presents a particularly harsh environment for sensors and instrumentation. The reactor core also imposes challenging constraints on signal transmission from inside the reactor core to outside of the reactor vessel. In this paper, an acoustic measurement infrastructure installed at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), located at Idaho National Laboratory, is presented. The measurement infrastructure consists of ATR in-pile structural components, coolant, acoustic receivers, primary coolant pumps (PCPs), a data acquisition system, and signal-processing algorithms. Intrinsic and cyclic acoustic signals generated by the operation of the PCPs are collected and processed. Finally, the characteristics of the intrinsic signal can indicate the process state of the ATR (such as reactor startup, reactor criticality, reactor attaining maximum power, and reactor shutdown) during operation (i.e., real-time measurement).

• Research Organization: Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1469593
• Report Number(s): INL/JOU-16-38882-Rev000
• Journal Information: Nuclear Technology, Vol. 197, Issue 3; ISSN 0029-5450
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis - formerly American Nuclear Society (ANS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
acoustics
in-pile measurements
signal processing