scholarly journals Design of a FPGA-based controller for power and period measurement in the start range of Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-48
Author(s):  
Vo Van Tai ◽  
Nguyen Van Kien ◽  
Nguyen Nhi Dien ◽  
Trinh Dinh Hai ◽  
Le Van Diep
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Flux ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Reactor Power ◽  
Processing Unit ◽  
Upward Movement ◽  
Nuclear Research Reactor

This paper introduces a new controller module based on a high-speed field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and digital signal processing (DSP) using moving average (MA) filters for calculation of the reactor power and period at the start range of the Dalat nuclear research reactor (DNRR). The reactor power is proportional to the neutron flux in the reactor core, and the reactor period is the time that the reactor power changes by a factor of 2.718. In the control and protection system (CPS) of the DNRR, the reactor power and period have been monitored by the 8-bit microprocessor controller named BPM-107R. There are two main functions of the BPM-107R controller including 1) measurement and determination of reactor power and period and 2) generation of warning and emergency protection signals by reactor power or/and by reactor period. Those discrete signals will access to the logical processing unit of the CPS to prohibit the upward movement of control rods or to shut down the reactor. The CPS has three BPM-107R controllers corresponding to three independent neutron flux measurement equipment (NFME) channels working by logic voting “2 out-of 3”. Each NFME channel was designed for detection of neutron flux density in the full range from 1×100 to 1.2×1010 n/cm2 ×s, which is divided into two sub-ranges named start range (SR) and working range (WR). The designed FPGA-based controller module was tested using simulated signals as well as signals from the CPS in comparison with the original controller BPM-107R. The experimental results show that the characteristics and functions of the two controllers are equivalent.

scholarly journals Characterization of neutron spectrum parameters at irradiation channels for neutron activation analysis after full conversion of the Dalat nuclear research reactor to low enriched uranium fuel

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-75
Author(s):  
D. Vu C. ◽  
Q. Thien T. ◽  
V. Doanh H. ◽  
D. Quyet P. ◽  
T. Anh T.T. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Neutron Flux ◽  
Neutron Spectrum ◽  
Thermal Neutron Flux ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Fast Neutron Flux ◽  
Nuclear Research Reactor ◽  
Enriched Uranium ◽  
Full Core

In the framework of the program on Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return (RRRFR) and the program on Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR), the full core conversion of the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor (DNRR) to low enriched uranium (LEU, 19.75% 235U) fuel was performed from November 24, 2011 to January 13, 2012. The reactor is now operated with a working core consisting of 92 WWR-M2 LEU. After the full core conversion, the neutron spectrum parameters which are used in k0-NAA such as thermal neutron flux (fth), fast neutron flux (ffast), f factor, alpha factor (a), and neutron temperature (Tn) have been re-characterized at four different irradiated channels in the core. Based on the experimental results, it can be seen that the thermal neutron flux decreases by 6÷9% whereas fast neutron flux increases by 2÷6%. The neutron spectrum becomes‘harder’ at most of irradiated positions. The obtained neutron spectrum parameters from this research are used to re-establish the procedures for Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) according to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard at NuclearResearch Institute.

scholarly journals Advanced Test Reactor: A National Scientific User Facility

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford J. Stanley ◽  
Frances M. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Flux ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Reactor Power ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Test Environment ◽  
User Facility ◽  
Test Reactor

This presentation and associated paper provides an overview of the research and irradiation capabilities of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the U.S. Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The ATR which has been designated by DOE as a National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) is operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This paper will describe the ATR and discuss the research opportunities for university (faculty and students) and industry researchers to use this unique facility for nuclear fuels and materials experiments in support of advanced reactor development and life extension issues for currently operating nuclear reactors. The ATR is a pressurized, light-water moderated and cooled, beryllium-reflected nuclear research reactor with a maximum operating power of 250 MWth. The unique serpentine configuration (Fig. 1) of the fuel elements creates five main reactor power lobes (regions) and nine flux traps. In addition to these nine flux traps there are 68 additional irradiation positions in the reactor core reflector tank. There are also 34 low-flux irradiation positions in the irradiation tanks outside the core reflector tank. The ATR is designed to provide a test environment for the evaluation of the effects of intense radiation (neutron and gamma). Due to the unique serpentine core design each of the five lobes can be operated at different powers and controlled independently. Options exist for the individual test trains and assemblies to be either cooled by the ATR coolant (i.e., exposed to ATR coolant flow rates, pressures, temperatures, and neutron flux) or to be installed in their own independent test loops where such parameters as temperature, pressure, flow rate, neutron flux, and chemistry can be controlled per experimenter specifications. The full-power maximum thermal neutron flux is ∼1.0 x1015 n/cm2-sec with a maximum fast flux of ∼5.0 x1014 n/cm2-sec. The Advanced Test Reactor, now a National Scientific User Facility, is a versatile tool in which a variety of nuclear reactor, nuclear physics, reactor fuel, and structural material irradiation experiments can be conducted. The cumulative effects of years of irradiation in a normal power reactor can be duplicated in a few weeks or months in the ATR due to its unique design, power density, and operating flexibility.

scholarly journals Study on the production of ¹⁷⁷Lu for medical purposes at the Dalat Research Reactor. Part 1. Study on production of ¹⁷⁷Lu at the Dalat Research Reactor

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-25
Author(s):  
Ngoc Tuan Nguyen ◽  
Van Dong Duong ◽  
Van Cuong Bui ◽  
Thanh Minh Pham ◽  
Thi Hang Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Flux ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Specific Radioactivity ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Activation Reaction ◽  
Lutetium Oxide ◽  
Nuclear Research Reactor ◽  
Dalat Research Reactor

Lutetium-177 (177Lu) radioisotope used for medical purposes has been produced at the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor during 2012-2014. The product was synthezed by the activation reaction 176Lu (n,γ) 177Lu. The target was Lutetium oxide with an abundance of 176Lu being 2.59% and the irradiation was conducted with a neutron flux of 2.1013 n cm-2 s-1. The activity of the 177Lu product was 39,59 Ci g-1 after 108 hous of the irradiation. The yield of this method was much higher compared to those of the reaction 176Yb(n, γ)177Yb → 177Lu + β- which for the same time could be 15mCi/50mg only. Because of low specific radioactivity the preparation of 177Lu made from the activation of 176Yb cannot be applied for the medical purposes. Additionally, the separation yield of 177Lu from 177Yb is rather low, it is usualy of approximately 70%.

scholarly journals Confocal chromatic sensor for displacement monitoring in research reactor

2021 ◽  
Vol 253 ◽  
pp. 04021
Author(s):  
Marion Agoyan ◽  
Gary Fourneau ◽  
Guy Cheymol ◽  
Ayoub Ladaci ◽  
Hicham Maskrot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Volume ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Displacement Monitoring ◽  
Sensor Performance ◽  
Fuel Rod ◽  
Displacement Thickness ◽  
Nuclear Research Reactor ◽  
Mitigation Techniques

Confocal chromatic microscopy is an optical technique allowing measuring displacement, thickness, and roughness with a sub-micrometric precision. Its operation principle is based on a wavelength encoding of the object position. Historically, the company STIL based in the south of France has first developed this class of sensors in the 90’s. Of course, this sensor can only operate in a sufficiently transparent medium in the used spectral domain. It presents the advantage of being contactless, which is a crucial advantage for some applications such as the fuel rod displacement measurement in a nuclear research reactor core and in particular for cladding-swelling measurements. The extreme environmental conditions encountered in such experiments i.e. high temperature, high pressure, high radiations flux, strong vibrations, surrounding turbulent flow can affect the performances of this optical system. We then need to implement mitigation techniques to optimize the sensor performance in this specific environment. Another constraint concerns the small volume available in the irradiation rig next to the rod to monitor, implying the challenge to conceive a miniaturized sensor able to operate under these constraints.

scholarly journals Changes of the Neutron Flux of the Nuclear Reactor Triga Mark III Since the Conversion from High to Low 235U Enrichment

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-153
Author(s):  
C. Vázquez-López ◽  
O. Del Ángel-Gómez ◽  
R. Raya-Arredondo ◽  
S. S. Cruz-Galindo ◽  
J. I. Golzarri-Moreno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Flux ◽  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Reactor Power ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Acrylic Sheet ◽  
Enriched Uranium ◽  
Reactor Operating ◽  
Fuel Elements

The neutron flux of the Triga Mark III research reactor was studied using nuclear track detectors. The facility of the National Institute for Nuclear Research (ININ), operates with a new core load of 85 LEU 30/20 (Low Enriched Uranium) fuel elements. The reactor provides a neutron flux around 2 × 1012 n cm-2s-1 at the irradiation channel. In this channel, CR-39 (allyl diglycol policarbonate) Landauer® detectors were exposed to neutrons; the detectors were covered with a 3 mm acrylic sheet for (n, p) reaction. Results show a linear response between the reactor power in the range 0.1 - 7 kW, and the average nuclear track density with data reproducibility and relatively low uncertainty (±5%). The method is a simple technique, fast and reliable procedure to monitor the research reactor operating power levels.

Dismantling the Nuclear Research Reactor Thetis

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Michiels
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Pneumatic Transport ◽  
Fissile Material ◽  
Storage Room ◽  
Water Cleaning

The research reactor Thetis, in service since 1967 and stopped in 2003, is part of the laboratories of the institution of nuclear science of the University of Ghent. The reactor, of the pool-type, was used as a neutron-source for the production of radio-isotopes and for activation-analyses. The reactor is situated in a water pool with inner diameter of 3 m. and a depth of 7.5 m. The reactor core is situated 5.3m under water level. Besides the reactor, the pool contains pneumatic loops, handling tools, graphite blocks for neutron moderation and other experimental equipment. The building houses storage rooms for fissile material and sources, a pneumatic circuit for transportation of samples, primary and secondary cooling circuits, water cleaning resin circuits, a ventilation system and other necessary devices. Because of the experimental character of the reactor, laboratories with glove boxes and other tools were needed and are included in the dismantling program. The building is in 3 levels with a crawl-space. The ground-floor contains the ventilation installation, the purification circuits with tanks, cooling circuits and pneumatic transport system. On the first floor, around the reactor hall, the control-room, visiting area, end-station for pneumatic transport, waste-storage room, fuel storage-room and the labs are located. The second floor contains a few laboratories and end stations of the two high speed transfer tubes. The lowest level of the pool is situated under ground level. The reactor has been operated at a power of 150 kW and had a max operating power of 250 kW. Belgoprocess has been selected to decommission the reactor, the labs, storage halls and associated circuits to free release the building for conventional reuse and for the removal of all its internals as legal defined. Besides the dose-rate risk and contamination risk, there is also an asbestos risk of contamination. During construction of the installation, asbestos-containing materials were used, which must be removed in controlled conditions. The ventilation system is considered free from nuclear contamination but it contains asbestos. This paper covers the organization of the dismantling work, the technical execution aspect and conclusions already known (dismantling is ongoing as this is written).

Innovation of Irradiation Equipment at the LVR-15 Nuclear Research Reactor

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdena Lahodová ◽  
Witolda Soukupová ◽  
Michal Koleška ◽  
Jaroslav Ernest ◽  
Jelena Zmítková
Keyword(s):  
Research Reactor ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Entire Length ◽  
Research Center ◽  
Irradiation Condition ◽  
Specimen Holder ◽  
Nuclear Research Reactor ◽  
Radiation Research

This paper describes the design and use of a new irradiation facility for the LVR-15 nuclear research reactor. The CHOUCA MT irradiation rig was produced in France according to a design of the ÚJV Group (ÚJV Řež and Research Center Řež). There are six heating sections situated along the rig, each instrumented and controlled by its own thermocouple. The rig’s insulation layers ensure a balanced temperature in irradiated specimens along its entire length. The specimen holder is 55.9 mm in diameter and 320 mm long. The CHOUCA MT rig can be repetitively irradiated in different positions within the reactor core, depending on irradiation condition requirements. The CHOUCA MT rig expands the possibilities of radiation research in the ÚJV Group.

Thermal-hydraulic analysis of a research reactor on personal computer with TARR code

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Ngo Huy Can ◽  
Nguyen Manh Lan ◽  
Tran Van Tran
Keyword(s):  
Personal Computer ◽  
Research Reactor ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Stationary Regime ◽  
Hydraulic Calculation ◽  
Hydraulic Analysis ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Nuclear Research Reactor ◽  
Thermal Hydraulic Analysis

The code has been created for thermal-hydraulic calculation of stationary regime of nuclear research reactor, using personal computer. The main objective of the code is to compute the thermal parameters in the reactor core in order to avoid any accident. The code can be applied for many fuel assemblies available in research reactors.

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