Search

We have proposed a planar electronically segmented high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector concept in combination with a multislit collimator for gamma emission tomography. In this work, the spatial resolution achievable using the collimated segmented HPGe detector was evaluated, prior to the manufacture and operation of the detector. The spatial response of a collimated segmented HPGe detector concept was evaluated using simulations performed with Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code MCNP6. The full detector and multislit collimator system were modeled, and for the quantification of the spatial response, the modulation transfer function (MTF) was chosen as a performance metric. The MTF curve was obtained through the calculation of the line spread function (LSF) by analyzing the simulated projection data. In addition, tomographic reconstructions of the simulated simplified test objects were made to demonstrate the performance of the segmented HPGe detector in planned application. For 662-keV photons, the spatial resolution obtained was approximately the same as the collimator slit width for both the 100- and 150-mm-long collimators. The corresponding spatial resolution at 1596-keV photon energy was almost twice the slit width for the 100-mm collimator, due to the partial penetration of the high-energy gamma rays through the collimator bulk. For a 150-mm-long collimator, an improved resolution was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gamma tomography instrument has been developed at the Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR) in cooperation between the Institute for Energy Technology, Westinghouse (Sweden) and Uppsala University. The instrument is used to record the gamma radiation field surrounding complete fuel assemblies and consists of a shielded enclosure with fixtures to accurately position the fuel and detector relative to each other. A High Purity Germanium detector is used for acquiring high-resolution spectroscopic data, allowing for analysis of multiple gamma-ray peaks. Using the data extracted from the selected peaks, tomographic reconstruction algorithms are used to reproduce the corresponding spatial gamma-ray source distributions within the fuel assembly. With this method, rod-wise data can be can be deduced without the need to dismantle the fuel. In this work, the tomographic device has been experimentally benchmarked for non-destructive rod-wise determination of the Fission Gas Release (FGR) fraction. Measurements were performed on the fuel-stack and gas-plenum regions of a complete fuel assembly, and quantitative tomographic reconstructions of the measurement data were performed in order to determine the rod-wise ratio of 85 Kr in the gas plenum to 137 Cs in the fuel stack. The rod-wise ratio of 85 Kr/ 137 Cs was, in turn, used to calculate the rod-wise FGR fraction. In connection to the tomographic measurements, the fuel rods were also measured individually using gamma scanning in order to provide an experimental benchmark for the tomographic method. Fuel rods from two donor driver fuel assemblies were placed into a nine-rod HBWR driver fuel assembly configuration. In order to provide a challenging measurement object and thus an appropriate benchmark for the tomographic method, five rods were taken from an assembly with a burnup of 51 MWd/kgUO 2 , and four rods were from an assembly with a burnup of 26 MWd/kgUO 2 . At the time of the measurements, the nine rods had cooled for approximately 22 years. All fuel rods had operated at high linear heat rates (around 70 kW/m), thus leading to relatively high FGR fractions. Here, the FGR fraction was determined to be ~24% in the high-burnup rods, and ~17% in the low-burnup rods. The tomography measurement results were in good agreement with the results from individual rod scanning, demonstrating the feasibility of tomography for this application. The capability of tomography to assess individual fuel rods without the need to dismantle the assembly can be particularly valuable in cases of fuels that do not allow disassembly, such as experimental HBWR fuel fitted with extensive instrumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmented coaxial HPGe (High Purity Germanium) detectors have recently been shown to be feasible for Gamma Emission Tomography (GET). This type of detector allows for a combination of high efficiency and high energy resolution in gamma spectrometry of irradiated nuclear fuel. The ultimate aim of developing segmented HPGe for GET measurements is to achieve a high spatial resolution to facilitate imaging of rod-internal features and interrogation of smaller irradiated fuel samples. In this work, we present the optimisation of a segmented HPGe detector through a simulation study using the Monte Carlo particle transport code MCNP. Constraints to each dimension of the detector were identified, from manufacturing limitations and requirements arising from the use of a finite-sized collimator slit. In particular, a relationship between the minimum inner radius of the coaxial detector and the segments azimuthal dimension was derived based on the identified constraints. Segment azimuthal and radial dimensions have been varied (based on the derived relationship between the azimuthal and radial dimension) and the full energy efficiency and misidentification rate were evaluated to obtain the optimal dimensions. The optimal ranges of the segment dimensions were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]