Reactor power monitoring using Cherenkov radiation transmitted through a small-bore metallic tube

Abstract

The use of a small-bore highly reflective metallic tube has been demonstrated at a pool-type nuclear reactor for transmitting Cherenkov radiation emitted from a quartz cylinder placed near the reactor core. The study revealed the promising prospect of using a metallic tube to remotely make localized measurements in order to independently monitor reactor power using Cherenkov light generated in the water pool or inside an attached radiator. This study confirmed qualitatively and quantitatively that commercially available stainless steel tubes with highly reflective inner surfaces can adequately transport Cherenkov light, produced in the proximity of a SLOWPOKE-2 reactor core operated at 20 kW, with acceptable transmission losses over significant distances. It was demonstrated that this Cherenkov-based instrument has a fast response, high fidelity, and the Cherenkov-induced output current varies linearly with the reactor power. Scans in the orthogonal directions showed the possibility of using the Cherenkov-based instrument for 3-D mapping of the general gamma field around the reactor core. Analytical and numerical models were developed and validated by experiments to predict the transmission efficiency of light in the highly polished small-bore light guides. This paper provides details of calculations and experimental validation under laboratory conditions and at a pool-type SLOWPOKE-2 reactor.