Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Improvements in Transient Testing Reactor (TREAT) with a Choice of Filter

Received: 22 May 2023     Accepted: 7 June 2023     Published: 29 September 2024
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Abstract

The safe and reliable operation of nuclear reactors has always been one of the topmost priorities in the nuclear industry. Transient testing allows us to understand the time-dependent behavior of the neutron population in response to either a planned change in the reactor conditions or unplanned circumstances. These unforeseen conditions might occur due to sudden reactivity insertions, feedback, power excursions, instabilities, and accidents. To study such behavior, we need transient testing, which is like car crash testing to estimate the durability and strength of a car design. In nuclear designs, such transient testing can simulate a wide range of accidents due to sudden reactivity insertions and helps study the feasibility and integrity of the fuel used in certain reactor types. This testing involves a high neutron flux environment and real-time imaging technology with advanced instrumentation with appropriate accuracy and resolution to study the fuel slumping behavior. With the aid of transient testing and adequate imaging tools, it is possible to test the safety basis for reactor and fuel designs that serves as a gateway in licensing advanced reactors in the future. To that end, it is crucial to fully understand advanced imaging techniques both analytically and via simulations. This paper presents an innovative method of supporting real-time imaging of fuel pins and other structures during transient testing. The major fuel-motion detection device that is studied in this dissertation is the Hodoscope which requires collimators. This paper provides 1) an MCNP model and simulation of a TREAT core with a central fuel element replaced by a slotted fuel element that provides an open path between test samples and a hodoscope detector, and 2) a choice of good filter to improve image resolution.

Published in International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering (Volume 13, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijepe.20241304.12
Page(s) 67-72
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Hodoscope, Transient Testing, Collimators, MCNP, TREAT, Hodogram, Filters

References
[1] Gupta, N. N. Das and Ghosh, S. K. A Report on the Wilson Cloud Chamber and its Applications in Physics. Calcutta, 1946.
[2] Womack, Cody. The Construction and Characterization of a Large Volume Wilson Cloud Chamber Utilizing Orthogonal Cameras for Image Capture” [Thesis].
[3] Wilson, J. G. The Principles of Cloud Chmber Technique, 1951.
[4] Roth, J. and Hobbie, Russel K. Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology. Textbook. 5th edition, 2015.
[5] Xu, Dan. Filtered Back-Projection in 4-Pi Compton Imaging with a Single 3D Position Sensitive CdZnTe Detector. IEEE 2006.
[6] Nyathi, Mpumelelo. Utilization of an optimum low-pass filter during filtered back projection in the reconstruction of single photon emission computed tomography images of small structures. Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Health Sciences, SefakoMakgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa 2018.
[7] De Volpi and Freese, C. H. Experimental Results and Improvements in the Fast Neutron Hodoscope.
[8] E. Dickerman. High Power Level Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility Sodium Loop Meltdown Experiment on an Unbonded EBR-II Marl I Fuel Pin.
[9] De Volpi, A. Fast Neutron Hodoscope at TREAT: Methods for Quantitative Determination of Fuel Dispersal” by A. De. Volpi et al.; “Fuel-Motion Diagnostics and Cineradiography.
[10] Abramowitz, M. and Stegu, I. A. Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs and Mathematical Tables. National Bureau of Standards Applied Mathematics Series – 55, 10th Printing, 1972.
[11] Pope, Chad. A detailed model of TREAT reactor was built in MCNP. 2016.
[12] Lyra, Maria and Ploussi, Agapi. Filtering in SPECT Image Reconstruction. Volume 2011, Article ID 693795, Published 2011.
[13] Jensen, Colby. Experiment Instrumentation for Transient Testing. Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation. 2016.
[14] James J. Duderstadt, Louis J. Hamilton. Nuclear Reactor Analysis. s. l.: John Wiley & Sons, inc., 1976.
[15] Hetrick, David L. Dynamics of Nuclear Reactors. La Grange Park, Illinois: American Nuclear Society, 1993.
[16] Kreyszig, Erwin. Advanced Engineering Mathmatics. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2006. ISBN 0471728977.
[17] MCNP, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), 1957. Retrived April 2nd, 2017.
[18] Robert Mowshyoung Wu, Shelf- shielding corrections for the TREAT hodoscope interpretation, 1982.
[19] Wachs, Daniel M. and Bumgrardner. John D. Restarting the Transient Test (TREAT) Facility Reactor for Nuclear Transient Testing Science: A Special Issue of Nuclear Technology. Nuclear Technology, 205: 10, iv-v. 2019.
[20] Welch, Alex. Diffusion Cloud Chamber. Applied Science Research class spring 2012.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Aryal, H. (2024). Improvements in Transient Testing Reactor (TREAT) with a Choice of Filter. International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, 13(4), 67-72. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20241304.12

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    ACS Style

    Aryal, H. Improvements in Transient Testing Reactor (TREAT) with a Choice of Filter. Int. J. Energy Power Eng. 2024, 13(4), 67-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20241304.12

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    AMA Style

    Aryal H. Improvements in Transient Testing Reactor (TREAT) with a Choice of Filter. Int J Energy Power Eng. 2024;13(4):67-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepe.20241304.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijepe.20241304.12,
      author = {Harish Aryal},
      title = {Improvements in Transient Testing Reactor (TREAT) with a Choice of Filter
    },
      journal = {International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering},
      volume = {13},
      number = {4},
      pages = {67-72},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijepe.20241304.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepe.20241304.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepe.20241304.12},
      abstract = {The safe and reliable operation of nuclear reactors has always been one of the topmost priorities in the nuclear industry. Transient testing allows us to understand the time-dependent behavior of the neutron population in response to either a planned change in the reactor conditions or unplanned circumstances. These unforeseen conditions might occur due to sudden reactivity insertions, feedback, power excursions, instabilities, and accidents. To study such behavior, we need transient testing, which is like car crash testing to estimate the durability and strength of a car design. In nuclear designs, such transient testing can simulate a wide range of accidents due to sudden reactivity insertions and helps study the feasibility and integrity of the fuel used in certain reactor types. This testing involves a high neutron flux environment and real-time imaging technology with advanced instrumentation with appropriate accuracy and resolution to study the fuel slumping behavior. With the aid of transient testing and adequate imaging tools, it is possible to test the safety basis for reactor and fuel designs that serves as a gateway in licensing advanced reactors in the future. To that end, it is crucial to fully understand advanced imaging techniques both analytically and via simulations. This paper presents an innovative method of supporting real-time imaging of fuel pins and other structures during transient testing. The major fuel-motion detection device that is studied in this dissertation is the Hodoscope which requires collimators. This paper provides 1) an MCNP model and simulation of a TREAT core with a central fuel element replaced by a slotted fuel element that provides an open path between test samples and a hodoscope detector, and 2) a choice of good filter to improve image resolution.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    Y1  - 2024/09/29
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    JF  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering
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    AB  - The safe and reliable operation of nuclear reactors has always been one of the topmost priorities in the nuclear industry. Transient testing allows us to understand the time-dependent behavior of the neutron population in response to either a planned change in the reactor conditions or unplanned circumstances. These unforeseen conditions might occur due to sudden reactivity insertions, feedback, power excursions, instabilities, and accidents. To study such behavior, we need transient testing, which is like car crash testing to estimate the durability and strength of a car design. In nuclear designs, such transient testing can simulate a wide range of accidents due to sudden reactivity insertions and helps study the feasibility and integrity of the fuel used in certain reactor types. This testing involves a high neutron flux environment and real-time imaging technology with advanced instrumentation with appropriate accuracy and resolution to study the fuel slumping behavior. With the aid of transient testing and adequate imaging tools, it is possible to test the safety basis for reactor and fuel designs that serves as a gateway in licensing advanced reactors in the future. To that end, it is crucial to fully understand advanced imaging techniques both analytically and via simulations. This paper presents an innovative method of supporting real-time imaging of fuel pins and other structures during transient testing. The major fuel-motion detection device that is studied in this dissertation is the Hodoscope which requires collimators. This paper provides 1) an MCNP model and simulation of a TREAT core with a central fuel element replaced by a slotted fuel element that provides an open path between test samples and a hodoscope detector, and 2) a choice of good filter to improve image resolution.
    
    VL  - 13
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Author Information
  • Mechanical Engineering, Marymount University, Arlington, The United States

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