Unattended mode operation of specialized NDA (nondestructive assay) systems
Nondestructive assay systems have been developed to allow data acquisition equipment to operate unattended in an automated mixed oxide facility, reducing inspector time in a facility and giving them time for other activities. Fewer inspector visits mean less impact on plant operators. Neutron detectors are located at key measurement points in the facility. Near each detector is located an electronics cabinet, which contains two JSR-11 shift registers, two COMPAQ Portable III computers, and a printer. The signal from the detector is split and sent to each shift register for redundancy and reliability. The software for unattended operation consists primarily of two programs, COLLECT and REVIEW. The COLLECT program runs on the computers in unattended operation; shift-register data are acquired each 60 s. The COLLECT program distinguishes between a normal background and a disconnected signal, between material moving near the detector and material in the detector, and whether the material in the detector is a sample or a californium normalization source. Depending on the type of assay, different data are stored on the hard disk. During an inspection, the inspector stops the current measurement campaign, examines the data from both computers briefly at the electronics cabinet, copies the campaign data to floppy disk, and starts another measurement campaign. These data are examined later in another location using the REVIEW program running on high performance microcomputers: a COMPAQ DeskPro 386/20 or equivalent. The REVIEW program uses graphical displays to enable the inspector to quickly search through the massive amounts of accumulated data to learn when samples were measured. Data from the desired measurements are then transferred to the International Atomic Energy Agency high-level neutron coincidence program for further analysis. 3 refs., 7 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 6076671
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-89-2151; CONF-890736-23; ON: DE89014287
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 30. annual meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, Orlando, FL, USA, 9 Jul 1989; Other Information: Paper copy only, copy does not permit microfiche production
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Development of an integrated, unattended assay system for LWR-MOX fuel pellet trays
BN-350 unattended safeguards system current status and initial fuel movement data
Related Subjects
NUCLEAR FUELS
PRODUCTION
AUTOMATION
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
MICROCOMPUTERS
NEUTRON MONITORS
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
PLUTONIUM
ACTINIDES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
COMPUTERS
DIGITAL COMPUTERS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FUELS
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METALS
MONITORS
RADIATION MONITORS
REACTOR MATERIALS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
050700* - Nuclear Fuels- Fuels Production & Properties