| Popis: |
Fission chambers are a vital instrument for the power monitoring of nuclear reactors, and as the current generation of reactors age, the need for next generation reactors to come online grows. Along with these new reactors, sensors and instruments are required for safe operation. One such instrument is a fission chamber capable of surviving the elevated temperatures and harsh environments that come with the next fleet of reactors. A high temperature fission chamber (HTFC) was designed in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Lab to fill this demand for new technology. This design was modeled using MCNP6 and an experiment was conducted at the Ohio State University Research Reactor to test the measurement capabilities of the design. MCNP6 was utilized to simulate expected fission rates from the HTFC at a variety of power levels and locations around the OSURR. These results were then used to create a reactor test plan utilizing the different locations and power levels to test the operation of the HTFC in both pulse and current mode operation. Along with these simulations, a detailed activation analysis utilizing the ORIGEN module within SCALE 6.1 was performed to determine the expected activity level and dose rates associated with the reactor experiment. A gas sampling system was developed to sample gas flowed through the experimental apparatus to ensure that the HTFC survived the experiment. This sampling system monitored the flow gas for alpha and beta radiation from fission products that would have leaked out of the containment in case of failure. |
