Development and nuclear characteristic testing of a mobile miniature fission ionization chamber neutron detector

Abstract

BackgroundThe miniature fission ionization chamber is a widely used neutron detector for the in-core neutron flux monitoring of a nuclear reactor. Typically, the in-core neutron flux rate measurement system of a domestic CPR1000 nuclear power unit adopts a mobile miniature fission ionization chamber as the neutron probe to measure the neutron flux of the reactor and provide an in-core neutron flux distribution map during the operation. Therefore, it is an important piece of safety and control equipment for nuclear power plants.PurposeThis study aims to develope a mobile miniature fission ionization chamber neutron detector according to the service conditions and technical requirements of current foreign products.MethodsThe nuclear properties of self-made fission ionization chamber neutron detector was developed strictly following the national standard GB/T 7164-2022 and the industry standard NB/T 20215-2013. The gamma sensitivity was tested and compared with a reference commercial fission detector using a 60Co gamma source. The thermal neutron detection characteristic, including the length and slope of plateau, the thermal neutron sensitivity and linearity were tested in one test channel of the China Mianyang Research Reactor (CMRR) with neutron flux from 1×109 n∙cm-2∙s-1 to 4×1013 n∙cm-2∙s-1.Results & ConclusionsThe test results indicate that "domestic substitution" of this in-core safety product can be achieved, and the nuclear characteristics of self-developed prototypes are comparable to those of foreign products.

Keywords

• cpr1000
• mobile in-core detection system
• miniature fission ionization chamber
• neutron flux