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Title: Expected total counts for the Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry measurements of spent nuclear fuel

Abstract

The Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry (SINRD) is a passive neutron technique that aims at a direct quantification of {sup 239}Pu in spent fuel assemblies by measuring the attenuation of the neutron flux in the energy region close to the 0.3 eV resonance of {sup 239}Pu. The {sup 239}Pu mass is estimated by calculating the SINRD signature, that is the ratio between the neutron counts in the fast energy region and around the 0.3 eV resonance region. The SINRD measurement approach in this study consisted in introducing a small neutron detector in the central guide tube of a PWR 17x17 fuel assembly. In order to measure the neutron flux in the energy regions defined in the SINRD signature, different detector types were used. The response of a bare {sup 238}U fission chamber is considered for the determination of the fast neutron flux, while other thermal-epithermal detectors wrapped in neutron absorbers are envisaged to measure the neutron flux around the resonance region. This paper provides an estimation of the total neutron counts that can be achieved with the detector types proposed for the SINRD measurement. In the first section a set of detectors are evaluated in terms of total neutron counts andmore » sensitivity to the {sup 239}Pu content, in order to identify the optimal measurement configuration for each detector type. Then a study is performed to increase the total neutron counts by increasing the detector size. The study shows that the highest total neutron counts are achieved by using either {sup 3}He or {sup 10}B proportional counters because of the high neutron efficiency of these detectors. However, the calculations indicate that the biggest contribution to the measurement uncertainty is due to the measurement of the fast neutron flux. Finally, similar sensitivity to the {sup 239}Pu content is obtained by using the different detector types for the measurement of the neutron flux close to the resonance region. Therefore, the total neutron counts associated to each detector type will play a major role in the selection of the detector types used for the SINRD measurement. (authors)« less

Authors:
 [1]; ;  [2]; ;  [3]
  1. Belgian nuclear research centre SCK.CEN (Belgium)
  2. Belgian nuclear research centre SCK.CEN. Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium)
  3. Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Av. F. D. Roosevelt 50, B1050 Brussels (Belgium)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - IEEE, 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10016-5997 (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
22531509
Report Number(s):
ANIMMA-2015-IO-x6
TRN: US16V0521102450
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: ANIMMA 2015: 4. International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications, Lisboa (Portugal), 20-24 Apr 2015; Other Information: Country of input: France; 16 Refs.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; ATTENUATION; BORON 10; FAST NEUTRONS; FISSION CHAMBERS; GUIDE TUBES; HE-3 COUNTERS; NEUTRON ABSORBERS; NEUTRON FLUX; PLUTONIUM 239; PWR TYPE REACTORS; SENSITIVITY; SPENT FUELS; URANIUM 238

Citation Formats

Rossa, Riccardo, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Borella, Alessandro, Van der Meer, Klaas, Labeau, Pierre-Etienne, and Pauly, Nicolas. Expected total counts for the Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry measurements of spent nuclear fuel. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1109/ANIMMA.2015.7465494.
Rossa, Riccardo, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Borella, Alessandro, Van der Meer, Klaas, Labeau, Pierre-Etienne, & Pauly, Nicolas. Expected total counts for the Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry measurements of spent nuclear fuel. United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/ANIMMA.2015.7465494
Rossa, Riccardo, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Borella, Alessandro, Van der Meer, Klaas, Labeau, Pierre-Etienne, and Pauly, Nicolas. 2015. "Expected total counts for the Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry measurements of spent nuclear fuel". United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/ANIMMA.2015.7465494.
@article{osti_22531509,
title = {Expected total counts for the Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry measurements of spent nuclear fuel},
author = {Rossa, Riccardo and Universite Libre de Bruxelles and Borella, Alessandro and Van der Meer, Klaas and Labeau, Pierre-Etienne and Pauly, Nicolas},
abstractNote = {The Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry (SINRD) is a passive neutron technique that aims at a direct quantification of {sup 239}Pu in spent fuel assemblies by measuring the attenuation of the neutron flux in the energy region close to the 0.3 eV resonance of {sup 239}Pu. The {sup 239}Pu mass is estimated by calculating the SINRD signature, that is the ratio between the neutron counts in the fast energy region and around the 0.3 eV resonance region. The SINRD measurement approach in this study consisted in introducing a small neutron detector in the central guide tube of a PWR 17x17 fuel assembly. In order to measure the neutron flux in the energy regions defined in the SINRD signature, different detector types were used. The response of a bare {sup 238}U fission chamber is considered for the determination of the fast neutron flux, while other thermal-epithermal detectors wrapped in neutron absorbers are envisaged to measure the neutron flux around the resonance region. This paper provides an estimation of the total neutron counts that can be achieved with the detector types proposed for the SINRD measurement. In the first section a set of detectors are evaluated in terms of total neutron counts and sensitivity to the {sup 239}Pu content, in order to identify the optimal measurement configuration for each detector type. Then a study is performed to increase the total neutron counts by increasing the detector size. The study shows that the highest total neutron counts are achieved by using either {sup 3}He or {sup 10}B proportional counters because of the high neutron efficiency of these detectors. However, the calculations indicate that the biggest contribution to the measurement uncertainty is due to the measurement of the fast neutron flux. Finally, similar sensitivity to the {sup 239}Pu content is obtained by using the different detector types for the measurement of the neutron flux close to the resonance region. Therefore, the total neutron counts associated to each detector type will play a major role in the selection of the detector types used for the SINRD measurement. (authors)},
doi = {10.1109/ANIMMA.2015.7465494},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22531509}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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