Figure
29. (a) Horizontal cross section of CIPN; (b) Vertical cross
section of CIPN.
CIPN uses fission chambers in polyethylene in a Fork
detector-like configuration with active interrogation from a Cf-252
neutron source to determine the total fissile content of a spent
nuclear fuel assembly. Figure 29 shows a diagram with the
horizontal cross section and vertical cross section of CIPN.
CIPN takes one measurement without the source and another
measurement with the Cf-252 source. The difference between
the background and active count rates corresponds to the total
fissile material content. If a baseline measurement is taken
prior to a partial defect diversion, CIPN has the capability to
detect a partial defect of as little as 3 % of the total spent fuel
mass (8 fuel rods from a 17 x 17 assembly).
Source:
- J. Hu, S.J. Tobin, H.O. Menlove, D. Henzlova, J. Gerhart, M.T.
Swinhoe, and S. Croft, "Developing the Californium Interrogation
Prompt Neutron Technique to Measure Fissile Content and to Detect
Diversion in Spent Nuclear Fuel Assemblies," Journal of
Nuclear Materials Management 40:3 (2012).
