Application of dosimetry measurements to analyze the neutron activation of a stainless steel sample in a training nuclear reactor

Abstract

ElsevierRódenas Diago, J.; Gallardo Bermell, S.; Weirich, F.; Hansen, W. (2014) Abstract: All materials present in the core of a nuclear reactor are activated by neutron irradiation. The activity so generated produces a dose around the material. This dose is a potential risk for workers in the surrounding area when materials are withdrawn from the reactor. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the activity generated and the dose produced. In previous works, neutron activation of control rods and doses around the storage pool where they are placed have been calculated for a Boiling Water Reactor using the MCNP5 code based on the Monte Carlo method. Most of the activation is produced indeed in stainless steel components of the nuclear reactor core not only control rods. In this work, a stainless steel sample is irradiated in the Training Reactor AKR-2 of the Technical University Dresden. Dose measurements around the sample have been performed for different times after the irradiation.Experimental dosimetric values are compared with results of Monte Carlo simulation of the irradiation.Comparison shows a good agreement. Hence, the activation Monte Carlo model can be considered as validated.

Application of the Monte Carlo method to estimate doses due to neutron activation of different materials in a nuclear reactor

“…The maximum discrepancies between doses calculated and measured for distances up to 1 m from the sample are of 8 % for a cooling time of 10 minutes and 12 % when the cooling time is 30 minutes. These results permitted to confirm the validation of MC models developed (Ródenas et al, 2014).…”