Nondestructive assay of spent fuel rods from a Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR Development Program)

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5912566· OSTI ID:5912566

Tessler, G.; Beaudoin, B. R.; Beggs, W. J.; Freeman, L. B.; Schick, Jr., W. C.

A gauge, called the Production Irradiated Fuel Assay Gauge (PIFAG), has been developed and utilized to measure, nondestructively, the fissile fuel content of spent fuel rods from the Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) core. The PIFAG was in operation from November 1983 to May 1987. During this period, assay data were obtained for two irradiated test rods used for initial qualification of the gauge and 524 spent LWBR core rods. A review of PIFAG operations is given, including hot cell operations, calibration, assay operations, and methods used to monitor the data quality and verify the precision and accuracy of the data. The analytical model used to determine the core rod fissile fuel content from the data and the results for the 524 LWBR spent fuel rods are given.

• Research Organization: Bettis Atomic Power Lab., West Mifflin, PA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC11-76PN00014
• OSTI ID: 5912566
• Report Number(s): WAPD-TM-1614; ON: DE88002088
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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