Design study for MOX fuel rod scanner for ATR fuel fabrication. Phase I: Design of active neutron scanner. Phase II: Design of passive neutron scanner. Phase III: Design of passive gamma-ray scanner
An active neutron fuel-rod scanner has been designed for the assay of fissile materials in mixed oxide fuel rods. A {sup 252}Cf source is located at the center of the scanner very near the through-hole for the fuel rods. Spontaneous fission neutrons from the californium are moderated and induce fissions within the passing fuel rod. The rod continues past a combined gamma-ray and neutron shield where delayed gamma rays above 1 MeV are detected. The authors used the Monte Carlo neutron-photon (MCNP) code to design the scanner and review optimum materials and geometries. Applications of the rod scanner include accountability of fissile material for safeguards applications, quality control of the fissile content in a fuel rod, and the verification of reactivity potential for mixed oxide fuels. A passive neutron fuel-rod scanner has been designed for the assay of the plutonium in mixed oxide fuel rods. The {sup 240}Pu-effective is measured by counting the spontaneous fission neutrons using a high-efficiency thermal-neutron detector. This passive neutron detector would be combined with a high-resolution gamma-ray system (HRGS) measurement to obtain the total plutonium from the plutonium isotopic ratios. A passive gamma-ray scanner has been designed for the measurement of the {sup 241}Am and plutonium uniformity in mixed oxide fuel rods. The passive gamma-ray emissions from {sup 241}Am (60 keV) and plutonium (150-400 keV) are used to verify the unformity of the fuel enrichment zones and to check for any pellets that are out of specification. The fuel rod is moved through the interior of an NaI(Tl) or a bismuth germanate detector to measure the passive gamma-ray emissions. A tungsten sleeve collimator is used in the through-hole to improve the pellet-to-pellet spatial resolution. The same detector is used to verify the plutonium uniformity in the pellets with a 13-mm tungsten collimator. The low-resolution passive gamma system would be used in the unattended mode.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 534497
- Report Number(s):
- LA--13324-MS; ON: DE98000081
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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