A time-frequency analysis of temperature fluctuations in a fast reactor

Reactor power estimation in fast reactors through neutronics is the most popular technique. However, it needs caliberation by temperature readings and the neutron flux is low at core periphery. Also, for any revised core loading pattern, neutron leakage may decrease. Hence, lesser number of neutrons reach ex-core detectors. This paper proposes a method to give an estimate to power by using temperature fluctuations in the central subassembly of the reactor. Time-Frequency analysis of temperature fluctuations using SCILAB is performed here. The coolant flow is considered almost constant throughout the analysis. The results indicate that the fluctuation level increases with reactor power. The proposed method can be used additionally for reactor power estimation.