Kalman filtering technique for dynamic compensation of RSPND (rhodium self-powered neutron detectors) using signal and background

Conference · Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)

OSTI ID:6374152

Yusuf, S O; Wehe, D K ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA)

Because of its delayed dynamic response, rhodium self-powered neutron detectors (RSPND) are generally used only at steady reactor operations. While cobalt or platinum self-powered neutron detectors yield prompt signals, they suffer from inferior sensitivity and yield signals that require more frequent calibration to reactor power or flux. As a result, most commercial power reactors have chosen rhodium as their SPND emitter material, and a substantial effort has subsequently been invested into means to improve the RSPNDs time response, including elegant digital and analog time compensation circuits. A further step proposed by Kantrowitz used Kalman filtering to combine a reactor kinetics model with the compensated detector signal, but presumably requires additional reactor signals as inputs. Another approach involved pairing prompt-responding fixed hafnium in-core detectors with slower responding rhodium detectors at the N reactor. In this work, the authors propose using the measured time dependence of the prompt-responding background signal of the detector to provide the feed-forward time compression information. This method can be applied to existing plant RSPNDs and requires neither additional reactor signals nor a reactor kinetics model. It is also directly applicable to the new paired detectors described above.

• OSTI ID: 6374152
• Report Number(s): CONF-900608-; CODEN: TANSA; TRN: 91-008229
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA), Vol. 61; Conference: American Nuclear Society (ANS) annual meeting, Nashville, TN (USA), 10-14 Jun 1990; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
REACTOR INSTRUMENTATION
RESPONSE FUNCTIONS
SELF-POWERED NEUTRON DETECTORS
ALGORITHMS
BACKGROUND RADIATION
CALIBRATION
DIGITAL SYSTEMS
FILTERS
NEUTRON FLUX
REACTOR CONTROL SYSTEMS
REACTOR KINETICS
REACTOR OPERATION
RHODIUM
SENSITIVITY
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
TIMING CIRCUITS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
ELEMENTS
FUNCTIONS
KINETICS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METALS
NEUTRON DETECTORS
OPERATION
PLATINUM METALS
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATION FLUX
RADIATIONS
SELF-POWERED DETECTORS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
220200* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Components & Accessories
440101 - Radiation Instrumentation- General Detectors or Monitors & Radiometric Instruments