Title :
Small, annular, double-contained 252Cf fission chamber for source-driven subcriticality measurements
Author :
Chiles, M.M. ; Mihalczo, J.T. ; Fowler, C.E.
Author_Institution :
Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., TN, USA
Abstract :
The authors describe a small-diameter, double-contained 252 Cf fission chamber design that can be inserted into a 0.95-cm diameter hole or tube such as the control rod guide tubes in pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel elements. Thus, this fission chamber can be used as a neutron driver for subcriticality measurements with irradiated PWR fuel elements. This prototype contains ~0.1 μg of 252Cf, but the design has flexibility to accommodate larger amounts of fissionable material required for PWR tests. Details of the design are presented as well as some of the instrument´s operational parameters and performance characteristics
Keywords :
fission counters; fission reactor instrumentation; nuclear criticality safety; 1 mug; 252Cf fission chamber; PWR fuel elements; design; double-contained; pressurized water reactor; small-diameter; subcriticality measurements; Assembly; Ceramics; Coaxial components; Connectors; Electrodes; Filling; Gas insulation; Pulse amplifiers; Pulse shaping methods; Welding;
Conference_Titel :
Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, 1992., Conference Record of the 1992 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Orlando, FL
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-0884-0
DOI :
10.1109/NSSMIC.1992.301189
