Advanced non-destructive methods for criticality safety and safeguards of used nuclear fuel

    Research output

    53 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The safeguards verification of spent nuclear fuel is one of the major concern for the safeguards community, as this material represents about 80% of all material placed under safeguards. This PhD thesis described the development of two passive non-destructive assay (NDA) techniques: the Self-Indication Neutron Resonance Densitometry (SINRD) and the Partial Defect Tester (PDET).
    The NDA methods were investigated with Monte Carlo simulations and the benchmark experiments for SINRD were performed at the GELINA facility of JRC-Geel in Belgium.
    The results for the SINRD technique showed promising results for the direct quantification of 239Pu in spent fuel, and both techniques gave encouraging results for the detection of partial defects.
    Original languageEnglish
    Awarding Institution
    • VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Supervisors/Advisors
    • Borella, Alessandro, SCK CEN Mentor
    • van der Meer, Klaas, SCK CEN Mentor
    • Labeau, Pierre-Etienne, Supervisor, External person
    • Pauly, Nicolas, Supervisor, External person
    Sponsors
    Date of Award30 Sep 2016
    Place of PublicationBruxelles, Belgium
    Publisher
    StatePublished - 2016

    Cite this