scholarly journals Developing and testing a miniature fiber-coupled scintillator for in-core neutron counting in CROCUS

2020 ◽  
Vol 225 ◽  
pp. 04018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Vitullo ◽  
Vincent Lamirand ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Mosset ◽  
Pavel Frajtag ◽  
Oskari Pakari ◽  
...  

An advanced neutron detection system for highly localized measurements in nuclear reactor cores was developed and tested in the Laboratory for Reactor Physics and System Behaviour (LRS) at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, in close collaboration with the Detector group of the Laboratory for Particle Physics (LTP) at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland. The miniature-size detector is based on the coupling of a ZnS:6LiF scintillator/converter screen of 1 mm2 and 0.2 mm thickness with a 10-m optical fiber, the latter being connected to a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). In this development version, the output signal is processed via analog read-out electronics. The present work documents the characterization of a detection system prototype in the mixedradiation fields o f t he C ARROUSEL f acility a nd i ts t esting in the CROCUS zero-power reactor operated at LRS. The fibercoupled scintillator shows a linear response with the reactor power increase up to 6.5 W (i.e. around 108 cm-2s-1 total neutron flux), with a s ubsequent l oss o f l inearity d ue t o e lectronic dead time of the analog system. Nevertheless, the detector shows excellent neutron counting capabilities whether compared to other localized detection systems available at LRS, e.g. miniature fission chambers and an sCVD diamond detector.

2021 ◽  
Vol 253 ◽  
pp. 04029
Author(s):  
Edoardo L. Brunetto ◽  
Fanny Vitullo ◽  
Vincent Lamirand ◽  
Klemen Ambrožič ◽  
Daniel Godat ◽  
...  

Three 1-mm3 miniature fiber-coupled scintillators have been used to perform cm-wise resolution measurements of the thermal neutron flux within experimental channels of the SUR-100 facility, a zero power thermal reactor operated by the Institute of Nuclear Technology and Energy Systems at the University of Stuttgart. The detection system is developed at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institut. Thermal neutrons count rates were measured along the experimental channels I and II, which cross the reactor at the center and tangentially to the core, respectively. The reactor was modelled with the Monte Carlo neutron transport code Serpent-2.1.31. The comparison of experimental and computed reaction rate distributions showed a good agreement within the core region, with discrepancies within 2σ. An unexpected discrepancy, probably caused by a geometric inconsistency in the computational model of the reactor, was observed in the reflector region of the experimental channel I, where a 20% difference (i.e. 8σ) was found between experimental and simulated results. Significant discrepancies, respectively worth 10σ and 15σ, were noticed at distance, in the lead shielding region, for both experimental channels I and II. In addition, reaction rate gradients across the 2.6 cm and 5.4 cm diameters of both channels were measured. A horizontal reaction rate gradient of (9.09 ± 0.20) % was measured within 2.4 cm across the diameter of the experimental channel II, with a difference from computed results of 2%. The absence of a vertical reaction rate gradient inside the experimental channel I was confirmed by measurements.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1051
Author(s):  
Luís Marques ◽  
Alberto Vale ◽  
Pedro Vaz

In the last decade, the development of more compact and lightweight radiation detection systems led to their application in handheld and small unmanned systems, particularly air-based platforms. Examples of improvements are: the use of silicon photomultiplier-based scintillators, new scintillating crystals, compact dual-mode detectors (gamma/neutron), data fusion, mobile sensor networks, cooperative detection and search. Gamma cameras and dual-particle cameras are increasingly being used for source location. This study reviews and discusses the research advancements in the field of gamma-ray and neutron measurements using mobile radiation detection systems since the Fukushima nuclear accident. Four scenarios are considered: radiological and nuclear accidents and emergencies; illicit traffic of special nuclear materials and radioactive materials; nuclear, accelerator, targets, and irradiation facilities; and naturally occurring radioactive materials monitoring-related activities. The work presented in this paper aims to: compile and review information on the radiation detection systems, contextual sensors and platforms used for each scenario; assess their advantages and limitations, looking prospectively to new research and challenges in the field; and support the decision making of national radioprotection agencies and response teams in respect to adequate detection system for each scenario. For that, an extensive literature review was conducted.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2674
Author(s):  
Qingying Ren ◽  
Wen Zuo ◽  
Jie Xu ◽  
Leisheng Jin ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
...  

At present, the proposed microwave power detection systems cannot provide a high dynamic detection range and measurement sensitivity at the same time. Additionally, the frequency band of these detection systems cannot cover the 5G-communication frequency band. In this work, a novel microwave power detection system is proposed to measure the power of the 5G-communication frequency band. The detection system is composed of a signal receiving module, a power detection module and a data processing module. Experiments show that the detection frequency band of this system ranges from 1.4 GHz to 5.3 GHz, the dynamic measurement range is 70 dB, the minimum detection power is −68 dBm, and the sensitivity is 22.3 mV/dBm. Compared with other detection systems, the performance of this detection system in the 5G-communication frequency band is significantly improved. Therefore, this microwave power detection system has certain reference significance and application value in the microwave signal detection of 5G communication systems.


Author(s):  
P C Chiu ◽  
E H K Fung

A triple heat exchanger, so called because there are three heat exchange processes taking place in it, was built to simulate the system behaviour of a nuclear reactor power plant or a solar heating plant which is characterized by the two circulating loops of the fluid flow. Experiments were carried out to study the temperature transients under disturbances in secondary fluid inlet temperature and power output from immersion heaters. Numerical results were obtained from the weighted residual formulation of the proposed dynamic model and they were shown to be in general agreement with the two sets of experimental responses.


2022 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 108931
Author(s):  
Jiaoshen Xu ◽  
Hui Tang ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Ge Qin ◽  
Xin Jin ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Xie Yang ◽  
Lei Shi

Differing from the adoption of helium as working fluid of closed Brayton cycle (CBC) for terrestrial high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) power plants, helium-xenon mixture with a proper molar weight was recommended as working fluid for space nuclear reactor power with CBC conversion. It is essential to figure out how the component of helium-xenon mixture affects the net system efficiency, in order to provide reference for the selection of appropriate cycle working fluid. After a discussion of the physical properties of different helium-xenon mixtures, the related physical properties are studied to analyze their affection on the key parameters of CBC, including adiabatic coefficient, recuperator effectiveness and normalized pressure loss coefficient. Then the comprehensive thermodynamics of CBC net system efficiency is studied in detail considering different helium-xenon mixtures. The physical properties study reveals that at 0.7 MPa and 400 K, the adiabatic coefficient of helium-xenon mixture increases with increased molar weight, from 0.400 (pure helium) to 0.414 (pure xenon), while recuperator effectiveness firstly increases and then decreases with the increase of molar weight, and the normalized pressure loss coefficient increases monotonically with molar weight increases. The thermodynamic analysis results show that the adiabatic coefficient has less effect on the net system efficiency, while the net system efficiency increases with increased recuperator effectiveness, and the net system efficiency decreases with normalized pressure loss coefficient increases. Finally, the mixture of helium-8.6% xenon was adopted as working fluid, instead of pure helium, for ensuring less turbine mechanicals (turbine and compressor) stages, and resulting maximum recuperator effectiveness. At the given cold / hot side temperature of 400 / 1300 K, the net system efficiency can reach 29.18% theoretically.


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