A new fast neutron collar for safeguards inspection measurements of fresh low enriched uranium fuel assemblies containing burnable poison rods

Abstract

Safeguards inspection measurements must be performed in a timely manner in order to detect the diversion of significant quantities of nuclear material. A shorter measurement time can increase the number of items that a nuclear safeguards inspector can reliably measure during a period of access to a nuclear facility. In turn, this improves the reliability of the acquired statistical sample, which is used to inform decisions regarding compliance. Safeguards inspection measurements should also maintain independence from facility operator declarations. Existing neutron collars employ thermal neutron interrogation for safeguards inspection measurements of fresh fuel assemblies.A new fast neutron collar has been developed for safeguards inspection measurements of fresh low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel assemblies containing gadolinia (Gd2O3) burnable poison rods. The Euratom Fast Collar (EFC) was designed with high neutron detection efficiency to make a fast (Cd) mode measurement viable whilst meeting the high counting precision and short assay time requirements of the Euratom safeguards inspectorate. A fast mode measurement reduces the instrument sensitivity to burnable poison rod content and therefore reduces the applied poison correction, consequently reducing the dependence on the operator declaration of the poison content within an assembly. The EFC non-destructive assay (NDA) of typical modern European pressurized water reactor (PWR) fresh fuel assembly designs have been simulated using Monte Carlo N-particle extended transport code (MCNPX) simulations. Simulations predict that the EFC can achieve 2% relative statistical uncertainty on the doubles neutron counting rate for a fast mode measurement in an assay time of 600s (10min) with the available 241AmLi (α,n) interrogation source strength of 5.7×104s−1. Furthermore, the calibration range of the new collar has been extended to verify 235U content in variable PWR fuel designs in the presence of up to 32 gadolinia burnable poison rods with Gd concentrations of up to 12wt%. Monte Carlo calculations predict that the EFC has a lower statistical uncertainty for measurements performed in the fast neutron mode than its predecessor neutron collar design. This paper describes the physics design and calculated performance characteristics of the EFC. The Gd response is presented over a realistic range for modern PWR fuel designs.