Analysis of gamma spectra from burnup measurement in HTR-10

Abstract

HTR-10, the 10 MW pebble-bed High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor-Test Module designed by Tsinghua University, achieved its first criticality in 2000. One of the unique features of HTR-10 is the continuous fuel feeding achieved by its fuel cycle system, in which the fuel sphere is allowed to pass through the core several times before discharged out. During the fuel circulation, the on-line burnup measurement system is used to ensure fuel credit. Up to now, after nearly 21 years of operation, huge data including gamma spectra have been collected by this on-line burnup measurement system. In this paper, the gamma spectra data collected from Nov. 2005 to Mar. 2006 are analyzed to identify the radionuclides left in the irradiated fuel sphere after a long decay. The analysis includes energy identification, decay scheme confirmation, activity estimation and so on. This work shows that radionuclides and corresponding activities are preliminarily identified, which lays a base for R&D of new burnup measurement apparatus and the profiling of fuel irradiation history. That would help to increase accuracy for the nuclear material accounting and to improve the operation strategy of pebble bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.