High Level Gamma and Neutron Irradiation of Silica Optical Fibers in CEA OSIRIS Nuclear Reactor

Cheymol, G.; Long, H.; Villard, J-F.; Brichard, B.

doi:10.1109/tns.2008.924056

Cited by 94 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…54 Several optical fibers were recently tested in the CEA OSIRIS nuclear reactor to determine the radiation induced attenuation. 55 The wavelength region between 800-1200 nm showed the least radiation induced attenuation. The best fibers showed radiation attenuation of approximately 10 dB/m at an accumulated dose of 1. fibers are a relatively new type of optical fiber which guide light on a bandgap principle as opposed to the total internal reflection of standard fibers.…”

Section: Limitations and Issuesmentioning

confidence: 97%

New In-pile Instrumentation to Support Fuel Cycle Research and Development

Rempe¹,

MacLean²,

Schley³

et al. 2011

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SUMMARYNew and enhanced nuclear fuels are a key enabler for new and improved reactor technologies. For example, the goals of the next generation nuclear plant (NGNP) will not be met without irradiations successfully demonstrating the safety and reliability of new fuels. Likewise, fuel reliability has become paramount in ensuring the competitiveness of nuclear power plants. Recently, the Office of Nuclear Energy in the Department of Energy (DOE-NE) launched a new direction in fuel research and development that emphasizes an approach relying on first principle models to develop optimized fuel designs that offer significant improvements over current fuels. To facilitate this approach, high fidelity, real-time, data are essential for characterizing the performance of new fuels during irradiation testing. A three-year strategic research program has been initiated for developing the required test vehicles with sensors of unprecedented accuracy and resolution for obtaining the data needed to characterize three-dimensional changes in fuel microstructure during irradiation testing. When implemented, this strategy will yield test capsule designs that are instrumented with new sensor technologies for irradiations at facilities primarily relied upon by the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCR&D) program, the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). Prior laboratory testing, and as needed, irradiation testing of sensors in these capsules will have been completed to give sufficient confidence that the irradiation tests will yield the required data.From the onset of this instrumentation development effort, it was recognized that obtaining these sensors must draw upon the expertise of a wide-range of organizations not currently supporting nuclear fuels research. Hence, a draft version of this document was developed to provide necessary background information related to fuel irradiation testing, desired parameters for detection, and an overview of currently available in-pile instrumentation. Then, a workshop was held in which U.S. and foreign experts from fuels, irradiation, and instrumentation fields participated. Prior to this workshop, copies of a draft version of this document were distributed to participants to stimulate expert interactions at this meeting. During the workshop, candidate sensor technologies identified in this document were discussed and ranked by the experts using agreed upon criteria. The final version of this document describes the consensus reached during the workshop with respect to recommendations for the path forward for accomplishing the goals of this research program.Based on the activities completed to develop this strategic plan, it is recommended that the FCR&D instrumentation development program be initiated as a three year program that includes the following three tasks:• Ultrasonics-Based Evaluations -In this task, laboratory evaluations and necessary irradiations will be completed to demonstrate the viability of this technology for in-pile applications. Specif...

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Section: Limitations and Issuesmentioning

confidence: 97%

New In-pile Instrumentation to Support Fuel Cycle Research and Development

Rempe¹,

MacLean²,

Schley³

et al. 2011

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“…However, an acrylate-coated distributed temperature sensor was successfully demonstrated in a working test reactor for a continuous period of 22 days. This study is one of the few long-term optical sensor investigations conducted in a nuclear reactor (Cheymol et al 2008). Materials must not contain elements that readily neutron-activate.…”

Section: Radiation Mechanical Damagementioning

confidence: 99%

Technical Readiness and Gaps Analysis of Commercial Optical Materials and Measurement Systems for Advanced Small Modular Reactors

Anheier¹,

Suter²,

Qiao³

et al. 2013

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Energy Research and Development Roadmap and industry stakeholders by evaluating optically based instrumentation and control (I&C) concepts for advanced small modular reactor (AdvSMR) applications. These advanced designs will require innovative thinking in terms of engineering approaches, materials integration, and I&C concepts to realize their eventual viability and deployment. The primary goals of this report include:1. Establish preliminary I&C needs, performance requirements, and possible gaps for AdvSMR designs based on best-available published design data.2. Document commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) optical sensors, components, and materials in terms of their technical readiness to support essential AdvSMR in-vessel I&C systems.3. Identify technology gaps by comparing the in-vessel monitoring requirements and environmental constraints to COTS optical sensor and materials performance specifications.4. Outline a future research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) program plan that addresses these gaps and develops optical-based I&C systems that enhance the viability of future AdvSMR designs.The DOE-NE roadmap outlines RD&D activities intended to overcome technical barriers that currently limit advances in nuclear energy. As part of this strategy, DOE-NE is sponsoring research on advanced reactor supportive technologies to reduce the identified barriers. Key challenges that must be overcome include the high capital costs to develop nuclear power plants, maintaining safety performance as the reactor fleet expands, minimizing nuclear waste, and maintaining strong proliferation resistance. AdvSMR designs are a major component of this strategy, because these designs offer a number of unique advantages. The modular and small size of AdvSMR designs naturally lead to reduced capital investments and, potentially, construction savings through factory fabrication. However, new economic and technical challenges accompany the many attractive features offered by AdvSMR designs. Specifically, the modest power output of AdvSMRs does not provide the economy of scale afforded by large reactors. In addition, many of the AdvSMR designs operate at much higher temperatures than lightwater reactors and require instrumentation to withstand harsh, in-vessel environments arising from unconventional, chemically aggressive coolants and unique reactor system configurations.Addressing these I&C challenges will be critically important to the AdvSMR development program to ensure the viability and future success of advanced reactor designs. Solutions will likely be found through evolution of conventional reactor technology, and the development of entirely new concepts. Early pressure/boiling water reactors used conventional I&C technologies (e.g., thermocouples, ionchambers, strain-gauge pressure sensors) to satisfy design requirements. Because these technologies worked well in the relatively low-temperature reactor designs, the demand for alternate I&C technologies was limited. At the time, optical-based reactor monitoring concepts were g...

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“…42 In this technique, the distance between the end of an optical fiber and a reflecting surface is determined using the interference of the light reflected from the end of the fiber, "R1," and that reflected from surface on the opposite side of the cavity space, "R2," as shown in Figure 28.…”

Section: Laboratory Evaluations To Assess Accuracymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been shown that the radiation induced attenuation of optical fibers is the lowest in the near IR wavelength, particularly in the range from about 800 to 1300 nm. 42 If the probe were designed to operate in this window and two fringe peaks were required within this range to determine fringe spacing, the minimum detectable cavity space would be approximately 1.5 m. The maximum detectable cavity space is based on the resolution of the spectrometer. As the cavity space increases and the fringe peaks get closer together, the ability to resolve individual peaks becomes the limiting factor.…”

Section: Elongation Sensor Technique Sensitivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A summary of the fiber issues and related research has been reported previously. 42 Irradiation testing of the optical fiber and components is paramount to quantitatively determining the effects on the sensor accuracy and lifetime. Collaborations with Ohio State University and Texas A&M University have led to development of an ATR NSUF proposal for fiber optic radiation testing, which is planned for submission in early FY13.…”

Section: Task 4: Cross Cuttingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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In-Pile Instrumentation to Support Fuel Cycle Research and Development - Fy12 Status Report

Rempe¹,

Daw²,

Knudson³

et al. 2012

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe Office of Nuclear Energy in the Department of Energy funds fuel research and development that emphasizes an approach relying on first principle models to develop optimized fuel designs that offer significant improvements over current fuels. To facilitate this approach, high fidelity, real-time data are essential for characterizing the performance of new fuels during irradiation testing. A strategic research effort is underway to develop sensors of unprecedented accuracy and resolution for obtaining the data needed to characterize three-dimensional changes in fuel microstructure during irradiation testing. When implemented, this strategy will yield test capsule designs that are instrumented with new sensor technologies for irradiations at facilities primarily relied upon by the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) program, the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). As part of this effort, laboratory testing, and as needed, irradiation testing, of sensors in these capsules will be completed to give sufficient confidence that the irradiation tests will yield the required data.At the onset of this effort, a strategic plan was developed to provide necessary background information related to fuel irradiation testing, desired parameters for detection, and an overview of currently available in-pile instrumentation. As part of developing this strategic plan, a workshop was held in which United States (US) and foreign experts from fuels, irradiation, and instrumentation fields ranked candidate sensor technologies. The strategic plan describes the consensus reached during the workshop with respect to recommendations for the path forward for accomplishing the goals of this research program. This document reports on the status of investigations in the sensor technologies identified by the expert panel as offering the most promise for meeting FCRD program objectives.As noted within this report, Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) research funding was limited. However, as summarized below, significant progress was still made in each technology area with respect to the developing and deploying new test rigs and sensors.• Ultrasonics Based Sensors -During FY12, FCRD funding was primarily used to advance deployment of an ultrasonic thermometer (UT) and to support development of a successful ATR National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) proposal for addressing a key issue related to ultrasonic sensor deployment for in-pile irradiation testing, ultrasonic transducer survivability. This collaborative proposal, which was led by Pennsylvania State University, will include several piezoelectric and magnetostrictive transducers.Laboratory testing was completed to assess the viability of using ultrasonics thermometers for multipoint temperature detection during irradiation testing. Although the accuracy and resolution will depend on the sensor selected, prior evaluations indicate that temperature measurements can be obtained with the required accuracy (2-3 °C) at multiple locations with a sing...

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High Level Gamma and Neutron Irradiation of Silica Optical Fibers in CEA OSIRIS Nuclear Reactor

Cited by 94 publications

References 19 publications

New In-pile Instrumentation to Support Fuel Cycle Research and Development

New In-pile Instrumentation to Support Fuel Cycle Research and Development

Technical Readiness and Gaps Analysis of Commercial Optical Materials and Measurement Systems for Advanced Small Modular Reactors

In-Pile Instrumentation to Support Fuel Cycle Research and Development - Fy12 Status Report

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