Usage of multiple fission cells for neutron flux measurements during rod-insertion method
The measurements of physical parameters of the TRIGA reactor and Nuclear power plant Krško (NEK) reactor cores have been in the past performed on hand of the neutron flux signal obtained from uncompensated ionization cells and by employment of the a digital meter of reactivity (DMR). At the TRIGA reactor only one ionization cell is currently used for flux measurements. During the insertion of one control rod the neutron flux distribution is significantly altered affecting the flux measurements of inserting different control rods. The problem is presently solved by assigning a correction factor to each control rod what introduces an additional uncertainty. In the present paper the implementation of four fission cells for reactivity measurements is presented. In this way determining the correct gamma background and its subtraction, performed by DMR algorithms, becomes less important as previously by using ionization chambers. The larger number of detectors also reduces the flux redistribution effects on the signal during individual control rod movements.