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At EPFL, the CROCUS reactor has been used to carry out experiments with vibrating fuel rods. The paper presents a first attempt to employ the measured data to validate CORE SIM+, a neutron noise solver developed at Chalmers University of Technology. For this purpose, the original experimental data are processed in order to extract the necessary information. In particular, detector recordings are scrutinized and detrended, and used to estimate CPSDs of detector pairs. These values are then compared with the ones derived from the CORE SIM+ simulations of the experiments. The main trend of the experimental data along with the values for some detectors are successfully reproduced by CORE SIM+. Further work is necessary on both the experimental and computational sides in order to improve the validation process.

The PETALE experimental program in the CROCUS reactor intends to provide integral measurements on reactivity worth and dosimetry measurement to constrain nuclear data relative to stainless steel heavy reflectors. The experimental setup consists in eight successive plates of pure iron, pure nickel, pure chromium, or nuclear-grade stainless steel set at the close periphery of the core. The plates are interleaved with up to nine dosimeters that consist of thin activation foils with different possible materials to be sensitive to different ranges of the neutron spectrum. A precise measurement with a good estimation of the uncertainties and correlations is required, especially when comparing reaction rates, e.g. transmission measurement and/or spectral indices. The present work focuses on the validation of the dosimetry technics developed in preparation of this experimental program. Different aspects are discussed: monitors, efficiency calibration, self-absorption correction, self-shielding and nuclear data uncertainties. The different sources of uncertainties for the experiment-calculation comparisons are characterized, taking into account all the correlation between the different dosimeters. These correlations are a mandatory element for the aimed Bayesian assimilation in order to avoir overfitting when considering dosimeter providing a similar information.

The Horizon2020 European project CORTEX aims at developing an innovative core monitoring technique that allows detecting anomalies in nuclear reactors, such as excessive vibrations of core internals, flow blockage, or coolant inlet perturbations. The technique will be mainly based on using the fluctuations in neutron flux recorded by in-core and ex-core instrumentation, from which the anomalies will be differentiated depending on their type, location and characteristics. The project will result in a deepened understanding of the physical processes involved, allowing utilities to detect operational problems at a very early stage. In this framework, neutron noise computational methods and models are developed. In parallel, mechanical noise experimental campaigns are carried out in two zero-power reactors: AKR-2 and CROCUS. The aim is to produce high quality neutron noise-specific experimental data for the validation of the models. In CROCUS, the COLIBRI experimental program was developed to investigate experimentally the radiation noise induced by fuel rods vibrations. In this way, the 2018 first CORTEX campaign in CROCUS consisted in experiments with a perturbation induced by a fuel rods oscillator. Eighteen fuel rods located at the periphery of the core fuel lattice were oscillated between ±0.5 mm and ±2.0 mm around their central position at a frequency ranging from 0.1 Hz to 2 Hz. Signals from 11 neutron detectors which were set at positions in-core and ex-core in the water reflector, were recorded. The present article documents the results in noise level of the experimental campaign. Neutron noise levels are compared for several oscillation frequencies and amplitudes, and at the various detector locations concluding to the observation of a spatial dependency of the noise in amplitude.

The present article describes the preliminary validation study of simulated in-core and reflector n eutron spectra in preparation of oncoming experimental programs in the zeropower reactor CROCUS at EPFL. For this purpose, a set of activation foils were irradiated at three characteristic positions in the CROCUS reactor, and the subsequent activities were analyzed via γ spectrometry. The experimental setup was then modeled with the Monte Carlo neutron transport code Serpent2 and associated with an analysis tool to include the effect of the reactor power history during experiments. The comparison of calculated and measured reaction rates (C/E) indicates a general consistency (at 2σ) between calculated and measured spectra. However, offsets of C/E values were observed in (n, γ) reactions, up to 18% for 115In and 8% for 63Cu dosimeters. This could be caused by an unexpected isotopic composition, uncertainties in nuclear data, or the spectrometry analysis. In addition, a 100-groups spectrum unfolding was performed using the experimentally determined reaction rates and the Serpent2 spectra as the prior knowledge. The unfolded spectra were mainly adjusted in the thermal and fast ranges, while few modifications w ere m ade i n t he e pithermal r egion d ue t o the low contribution of epithermal neutrons in activation processes. Moreover, within energy groups where the capture reactions show resonant behavior, flux depletion (up to 38% as compared to the prior spectra) is observed due to the absence of self-shielding effect in the unfolding process. For this purpose, an unfolding method based on energy groups weighting is developed and tested.

The present article is an overview of developments and results regarding neutron noise measurements in current mode at the CROCUS zero power facility. Neutron noise measurements offer a non-invasive method to determine kinetic reactor parameters such as the prompt decay constant at criticality α = βeff / λ, the effective delayed neutron fraction βeff, and the mean generation time λ for code validation efforts. At higher detection rates, i.e. above 2×104 cps in the used configuration at 0.1 W, the previously employed pulse charge amplification electronics with BF3 detectors yielded erroneous results due to dead time effects. Future experimental needs call for higher sensitivity in detectors, higher detection rates or higher reactor powers, and thus a generally more versatile measurement system. We, therefore, explored detectors operated with current mode acquisition electronics to accommodate the need. We approached the matter in two ways: 1) By using the two compensated 10B-coated ionization chambers available in CROCUS as operational monitors. The compensated current signal of these chambers was extracted from coremonitoring output channels. 2) By developing a new current mode amplification station to be used with other available detectors in core. Characteristics and first noise measurements of the new current system are presented. We implemented post-processing of the current signals from 1)and 2) with the APSD/CPSD method to determine α. At two critical states (0.5 and 1.5 W), using the 10B ionization chambers and their CPSD estimate, the prompt decay constant was measured after 1.5 hours to be α=(156.9 ± 4.3) s-1 (1σ). This result is within 1σ of statistical uncertainties of previous experiments and MCNPv5-1.6 predictions using the ENDF/B-7.1 library. The newsystem connected to a CFUL01 fission chamber using the APSDestimate at 100 mW after 33 min yielded α = (160.8 ± 6.3) s-1, also within 1σ agreement. The improvements to previous neutron noise measurementsinclude shorter measurement durations that can achievecomparable statistical uncertainties and measurements at higherdetection rates.

The possibility of measuring the gas-phase velocity in a two-phase mixture through the use of neutron noise techniques is demonstrated in the zero-power reactor CROCUS of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. It is the first step toward the experimental validation of an existing theoretical model whose objective is the reconstruction of the void profile in a channel. The use of zero-power research reactors is advantageous due to their clean environment in terms of signal fluctuations. To this end, a channel was installed in the reflector of CROCUS. A two-component mixture is generated inside the channel through the injection of compressed air. The signal fluctuations of neutron detectors located at various axial locations next to the channel are processed to determine the transit time of the gas phase between detectors. Four methods are presented based on the detector signal time series either in the time domain (time correlations between signals) or in the frequency domain (phase of the cross-power spectral density. All four methods returned consistent transit times and similar experimental uncertainty. The largest possible gas injection rates as well as the highest possible neutron flux level improve the visibility of the traveling perturbation and reduce the experimental uncertainty on the transit time for a given acquisition time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Futsal is a discipline with high training and nutritional requirements. Despite growing research interest in athletes' diet and nutritional status, no studies have examined Polish male futsal players. Therefore, the aim of this descriptive study was an assessment of the dietary intake and nutritional status in a selected group of futsal players. The study comprised 11 members of a top Polish futsal team (aged 26 ± 3.62 years). Dietary intake was assessed using a standardized 3-day food record. Body composition, total energy expenditure, physical fitness level, and concentrations of the biochemical indices of each participant were estimated. The energy availability in the diet was lower than recommended. Moreover, low consumption of carbohydrates was stated, as well as an inadequate intake of Vitamins E and D. Higher protein and cholesterol intake than recommended were also observed. To conclude, our results point to the need for educating athletes and coaches, particularly teaching about proper food choices, promoting quality foods, and, in some cases, using individual dietary plans to meet energy and nutrient needs. Nutrition education would help to improve their dietary and health habits and optimize their performance in sports training.

Gamma-rays ( γ -rays), wherever present, e.g., in medicine, nuclear environment, or homeland security, due to their strong impact on biological matter, should be closely monitored. There is a need for simple, sensitive γ -ray detectors at affordable prices. Here, it is shown that γ -ray detectors based on crystals of methylammonium lead tribromide (MAPbBr 3 ) ideally meet these requirements. Specifically, the γ -rays incident on a MAPbBr 3 crystal generates photocarriers with a high mobility-lifetime product, allowing radiation detection by photocurrent measurements at room temperatures. Moreover, the MAPbBr 3 crystal-based detectors, equipped with improved carbon electrodes, can operate at low bias (≈1.0 V), hence being suitable for applications in energy-sparse environments, including space. The γ -ray detectors reported herein are exposed to radiation from a  60 Co source at dose rates up to 2.3 Gy h -1  under ambient conditions for over 100 h, without any sign of degradation. The excellent radiation tolerance stems from the intrinsic structural plasticity of the organic-inorganic halide perovskites, which can be attributed to a defect-healing process by fast ion migration at the nanoscale level. The sensitivity of the γ -ray detection upon volume is tested for MAPbBr 3  crystals reaching up to 1000 cm 3 (3.3 kg in weight) grown by a unique crystal growth technique., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2020 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)