Experimental study of tritium activity concentration in cooling water of heavy ion research facility in Lanzhou

Abstract

Cooling water of Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou is the media of choice for absorbing heat generated by a multitude of accelerator components. During the operation, tritium is produced by the secondary neutrons in the accelerator loop of accelerator cooling water, which is uniformly distributed in the water system in the form of hydrogen tritium oxide. The purpose of this study is to establish a rigorous method to measure the low levels of tritium in the accelerator cooling water system. The cooling water samples of Sector Focusing Cyclotron and Separated Sector Cyclotron of Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou, as well as the natural levels of tritium, were measured successfully, using Quantulus1220 ultra-low-level background liquid scintillation spectrometer. The electrolytic enrichment method was employed to measure the tritium activity concentrations of the cooling water samples. Moreover, the minimum detectable activity concentration and the counting rate efficiency curve of the liquid scintillation spectrometer were obtained to ensure reliability. In this work, we provide a reference to establish the related standards and specifications for monitoring the tritium levels in heavy-ion accelerator cooling water system.

Keywords

• tritium
• activity concentration
• cooling water
• accelerator