Advances in the Development of a Spent Fuel Measurement Device in Belgian Nuclear Power Plants

    Research outputpeer-review

    Abstract

    One of the research lines at SCK•CEN is investigating experimental methods for the burnup determination of spent fuel elements. In the past, a version of the so-called Fork Detector has been designed and built at SCK•CEN and is in use at the Belgian Nuclear Power Plant of Doel. The Fork Detector relies on passive neutron and gamma measurements for the assessment of the burnup and Safeguards verification activities. In this assessment, certain information like initial enrichment of the fuel element, the irradiation history and material composition are supposed to be known operator declared data. An industry sponsored project is on-going to design and build a measurement system which includes both neutron detectors and a medium resolution gamma rays spectrometer, e.g. a Cadmium Zinc Telluride detector. The response of these two detectors can then be used for the determination of the average and axial burnup, relying less on operator declared data. This paper summarizes the main findings of the project and the conclusions that have been reached so far on the design of the new measurement device.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationSymposium on International Safeguards, Linking Strategy, Implementation and People
    Subtitle of host publicationBook of Abstracts, Presentations and Papers
    Place of PublicationVienna, Austria
    Pages278-278
    Number of pages1
    StatePublished - 10 Dec 2014
    Event2014 - Symposium on International Safeguards: Linking Strategy, Implementation and People - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna
    Duration: 20 Oct 201424 Oct 2014
    http://www-pub.iaea.org/iaeameetings/46090/Symposium-on-International-Safeguards-Linking-Strategy-Implementation-and-People

    Conference

    Conference2014 - Symposium on International Safeguards: Linking Strategy, Implementation and People
    Country/TerritoryAustria
    CityVienna
    Period2014-10-202014-10-24
    Internet address

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