Method and apparatus for diagnosing breached fuel elements

Patent · Mon Mar 02 00:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6823763

Gross, K C; Lambert, J D.B.; Nomura, S

The invention provides an apparatus and method for diagnosing breached fuel elements in a nuclear reactor. A detection system measures the activity of isotopes from the cover gas in the reactor. A data acquisition and processing system monitors the detection system and corrects for the effects of the cover-gas clean up system on the measured activity and further calculates the derivative curve of the corrected activity as a function of time. A plotting system graphs the derivative curve, which represents the instantaneous release rate of fission gas from a breached fuel element. 8 figs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• Assignee: ANL; ERA-14-000616; EDB-88-183589
• Patent Number(s): PATENTS-US-A6020997
• OSTI ID: 6823763
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
FAILED ELEMENT MONITORS
DESIGN
ACTIVITY LEVELS
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
DETECTION
FAILED ELEMENT DETECTION
FUEL ELEMENT FAILURE
HOT GAS CLEANUP
INVENTIONS
ACCIDENTS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORS
PURIFICATION
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
220300* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Fuel Elements
220400 - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Control Systems