GENERAL THEORY FOR THE DETECTION OF DEFECTS IN FUEL ELEMENT CLADDINGS IN HETEROGENEOUS REACTORS

Journal Article · Fri Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1962 · Kernenergie (East Germany)

OSTI ID:4801276

Krueger, F W

Fission products are released into the coolants of reactore by faults in the fuel element cladding. The detection of faults is generally done by detection of these fission products. In order to localize the defect, a part of the coolant stream which flows past the given number of elements was drawn off and led to a detector. The localization was made difficult if the coolant in the surface is mixed outside of the active zone. Therefore, soon after the origin of a defect fission products arrived at all detectors. Moreover, often the fuel element claddings are surface contaminated with fuel material, or the cladding material contains traces of fissionable materials. During reactor operation fission products also originate from these impurities, contaminate the coolant, and make difficult the detection of cladding defects. By consideration of these effects, a general representation of the specific activity of the fission products in the coolant at the site of the detectors is given. The signal/ noise ratio for a defect monitor was derived and discussed for various defect and operating states. The results were clarified using the Shippingport Reactor as an example. They permit conclusions to be drawn on the selection of suitable detection methods. (tr-auth)

• Research Organization: VEB EPkA, Berlin
• NSA Number: NSA-16-027415
• OSTI ID: 4801276
• Journal Information: Kernenergie (East Germany), Journal Name: Kernenergie (East Germany) Vol. Vol: 5; ISSN KERNA
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: German

Related Subjects

BACKGROUND
COATING
CONTAMINATION
COOLANTS
DEFECTS
DETECTION
EFFICIENCY
ENGINEERING AND EQUIPMENT
FISSION PRODUCTS
FISSIONABLE MATERIALS
FLUID FLOW
FUEL ELEMENTS
MATERIALS TESTING
MIXING
MONITORING
PERFORMANCE
PULSES
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIATIONS
RADIOACTIVITY
REACTORS
SHIPPINGPORT
SURFACES
ZONES