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Title: Nondestrucive analysis of fuel pins

Abstract

Disclosure is made of a method and a correspondingly adapted facility for the nondestructive analysis of the concentation of fuel and poison in a nuclear reactor fuel pin. The concentrations of fuel and poison in successive sections along the entire length of the fuel pin are determined by measuring the reactivity of a thermal reactor as each successive small section of the fuel pin is exposed to the neutron flux of the reactor core and comparing the measured reactivity with the reactivities measured for standard fuel pins having various known concentrations. Only a small section of the length of the fuel pin is exposed to the neutron flux at any one time while the remainder of the fuel pin is shielded from the neutron flux. In order to expose only a small section at any one time, a boron-10-lined dry traverse tube is passed through the test region within the core of a low-power thermal nuclear reactor which has a very high fuel sensitivity. A narrow window in the boron-10 lining is positioned at the core center line. The fuel pins are then systematically traversed through the tube past the narrow window such that successive small sections along the lengthmore » of the fuel pin are exposed to the neutron flux which passes through the narrow window.

Inventors:
; ;
Issue Date:
OSTI Identifier:
7331120
Assignee:
Energy Research and Development Administration
Resource Type:
Patent
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; FUEL PINS; NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; FUEL SCANNING; CHEMICAL ANALYSIS; FUEL ELEMENTS; REACTOR COMPONENTS; 220300* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Fuel Elements

Citation Formats

Stepan, I E, Allard, N P, and Suter, C R. Nondestrucive analysis of fuel pins. United States: N. p., 1972. Web.
Stepan, I E, Allard, N P, & Suter, C R. Nondestrucive analysis of fuel pins. United States.
Stepan, I E, Allard, N P, and Suter, C R. Fri . "Nondestrucive analysis of fuel pins". United States.
@article{osti_7331120,
title = {Nondestrucive analysis of fuel pins},
author = {Stepan, I E and Allard, N P and Suter, C R},
abstractNote = {Disclosure is made of a method and a correspondingly adapted facility for the nondestructive analysis of the concentation of fuel and poison in a nuclear reactor fuel pin. The concentrations of fuel and poison in successive sections along the entire length of the fuel pin are determined by measuring the reactivity of a thermal reactor as each successive small section of the fuel pin is exposed to the neutron flux of the reactor core and comparing the measured reactivity with the reactivities measured for standard fuel pins having various known concentrations. Only a small section of the length of the fuel pin is exposed to the neutron flux at any one time while the remainder of the fuel pin is shielded from the neutron flux. In order to expose only a small section at any one time, a boron-10-lined dry traverse tube is passed through the test region within the core of a low-power thermal nuclear reactor which has a very high fuel sensitivity. A narrow window in the boron-10 lining is positioned at the core center line. The fuel pins are then systematically traversed through the tube past the narrow window such that successive small sections along the length of the fuel pin are exposed to the neutron flux which passes through the narrow window.},
doi = {},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {1972},
month = {11}
}

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