Westinghouse Electric Corporation

William H Todt

Norman P Goldstein

Kerwin C Playfoot

Richard H Underwood

Cheng L Chen

Alex D Service

A detector assembly for in-core nuclear reactor monitoring in which the wall thickness of the outer housing tube 26a and the wall thickness of the inner calibration tube 28a, taken together with the diameters of operating and non-operating elements 34a, 36a, 38 filling the annular space between the tubes and each having interior highly compacted mineral insulation, provide a total thickness dimension adequate to meet code primary pressure requirements for normal nuclear reactor in-core conditions, with the OD of the outer housing tube permitting passage of the assembly through most existing assembly guide tubes 18, and the ID of the calibration tube being adequate to receive movable detectors 48 of a larger, standard size, thus permitting use of in-place standard drive systems.

In-core assembly configuration having a dual-wall pressure boundary for

An ion chamber exhibiting a flat response to a wide range of incident gamma energy is provided by a high-pressure fill gas mixture of a first major constituent, low atomic number gas which exhibits a reduced gamma response at low gamma energy levels, and a second minor constituent, high atomic number gas which exhibits an increased gamma response at low gamma energy levels. The preferred fill gas mixture is nitrogen as the major constituent and xenon as the minor constituent.

Ion chamber with a flat sensitivity response characteristic

Seismic restraint means are provided for mounting an elongated, generally cylindrical nuclear radiation detector within a tubular thimble. The restraint means permits longitudinal movement of the restraint means and the radiation detector into and out of the thimble. The restraint means includes spring bias means and thimble constant means whereby the contact means engage the thimble with a constant predetermined force which minimizes seismic vibration action on the radiation detector.

Seismic restraint means for a nuclear radiation detector mounted in a

A self-powered nuclear radiation detector with an emitter electrode of an alloy of a first major constituent metal having a desired high radiation response, and a second minor constituent which imparts to the alloy a desired thermal or mechanical characteristic without diminishing the desired high radiation response. A gamma responsive self-powered detector is detailed which has an emitter with lead as the major constituent, with the minor constitutent selected from aluminum, copper, nickel, platinum, or zinc.

Self-powered radiation detector with improved emitter

A self-powered neutron detector in which two electrically isolated emitter electrodes are provided. The emitters are formed of different materials having differing responses to thermal and epithermal neutron flux. The separate signals generated between the separate emitters and a common collector electrode are used to determine the respective thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes for a more accurate flux mapping of the reactor core.

Core self-powered radiation detector for determining thermal and

An improved response gamma sensitive self-powered detector is provided by forming the conductive central emitter as a tubular member. Low density, non-attenuating insulating means is disposed within the tubular emitter and about the tubular emitter spacing it from the coaxial outer conductive collector.

Gamma flux responsive self-powered detector with a tubular emitter

An improved compensated self-powered neutron detector is detailed wherein a thin conductive layer of low neutron cross section, high density material is disposed about the emitter core and also on the interior of the collector sheath. The conductive layer about the emitter absorbs low average energy electrons produced by emitter material activation products. The provision of the inner and outer conductive shield layers insures that signal current due to the response of these shielding layers to external gamma rays will be nullified and the detector device compensated to provide a detector which primarily responds to neutrons.

Compensated self-powered neutron detector

A liquid level sensor of the bifilar wound inductive coil type is provided with improved end linearity characteristic. The coil ends are wound substantially to the end of a tubular support member, and a modified end support is provided at the support tube ends.

Liquid level sensor with improved linearity

The signal non-linearity which is characteristic of the end portions of an elongated liquid metal level mutual inductance type prove is substantially eliminated by increasing the coil turns per unit length of the probe in the end portions thereby increasing the mutual inductance characteristics of the probe in the end portions.

Liquid level sensor

A self-powered in-core neutron detector assembly in which a plurality of longitudinally extending self-powered detectors have neutron responsive active portions spaced along a longitudinal path. A low neutron absorptive extension extends from the active portions of the spaced active portions of the detectors in symmetrical longitudinal relationship with the spaced active detector portions of each succeeding detector. The detector extension terminates with the detector assembly to provide a uniform perturbation characteristic over the entire assembly length.

Self-powered in-core neutron detector assembly with uniform perturbation

A self-powered gamma flux sensitive detector has improved gamma sensitivity as a result of provision of a low density insulating means between the emitter and collector of the detector.

Gamma flux responsive self-powered radiation detector

A neutron detection system is described which is operable over a wide range of neutron flux levels. The system includes a fission type ionization chamber neutron detector, means for gamma and alpha signal compensation, and means for operating the neutron detector in the pulse counting mode for low neutron flux levels, and in the direct current mode for high neutron flux levels.

Wide range neutron detection system

A coaxial electrical signal cable is inherently compensated for gamma flux induced currents by the use of selected alloys for the central conductive wire. The central conductive wire alloy comprises a first metal which interacts with the gamma flux to produce a negative current contribution between the central conductive wire and the conductive sheath, and a second metal which interacts with the gamma flux to produce a positive current contribution, which in combination with the signal produced in the conductive sheath results in a null gamma induced current for the cable.

Gamma compensated coaxial cable

A liquid metal level sensor of the bifilar wound coil sensor type in which the secondary windings are of a lesser diameter than the primary windings for unbalanced operation.

Liquid metal level sensor with increased sensitivity

A temperature compensated inductive liquid metal level detection system and a preferred probe structure is detailed. The temperature compensation is provided by provision of a separate temperature compensation coil as part of the inductive probe.

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Elmira Heights, NY, United States of America

William H Todt