New Temperature Monitoring Devices for High-Temperature Irradiation Experiments in the High Flux Reactor Petten

Laurie, M.; Fütterer, Michael A.; Lapetite, Jean‐Marc; Fourrez, S.; Morice, R.

doi:10.1109/tns.2011.2160651

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 6 publications

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“…More recent information 29 suggested that there were plans to irradiate these thermocouples in the High Flux Reactor (HFR) as part of CEA's gas reactor research program and that more recent efforts are exploring the use of doped Mo/Nb-alloy thermoelement materials. 29 However, recent references [13][14] indicate that no in-pile qualification of these thermocouples has been performed.…”

Section: Mo/nb Thermocouplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

2012 Status Report on Efforts to Enhance Instrume

Rempe¹,

Knudson²,

Daw³

et al. 2012

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The Department of Energy (DOE) designated the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) as a National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) in April 2007 to support U.S. leadership in nuclear science and technology. By attracting new research users -universities, laboratories, and industry -the ATR NSUF facilitates basic and applied nuclear research and development, further advancing the nation's energy security needs. A key component of the ATR NSUF effort at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is to design, develop, and deploy new in-pile instrumentation techniques that are capable of providing real-time measurements of key parameters during irradiation. To address this need, an assessment of instrumentation available and under-development at other test reactors was completed. Based on this initial review, recommendations were made with respect to what instrumentation is needed at the ATR, and a strategy was developed for obtaining these sensors. In 2009, a report was issued documenting this program's strategy and initial progress toward accomplishing program objectives. Since 2009, annual reports have been issued to provide updates on the program strategy and the progress made on implementing the strategy. This report provides the 2012 update.As reported in this document, significant accomplishments occurred in several instrumentation development and deployment areas during 2012. Specialized INL-developed sensors for real-time detection of temperature and thermal conductivity are not only being provided to NSUF reactors at INL and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but are also being provided to the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) in France and to the Institute for Energy Technology/Halden Reactor Project (IFE/HRP) in Norway for evaluation. High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL) staff are also involved in expanding options for peak temperature sensors, such as melt wires and silicon carbide temperature monitors, and integral fluence sensors, such as activation foils and flux wires available to our users. On-going tasks to deploy real-time length and flux detection sensors are continuing. A test rig for evaluating creep specimens is now ready for use in the newly reactivated ATR pressurized water loop and efforts have been initiated to develop a crack growth test rig. In addition, several tasks evaluating 'advanced' technologies, such as fiber-optics based length detection and ultrasonic thermometers, were initiated.

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Section: Mo/nb Thermocouplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

2012 Status Report on Efforts to Enhance Instrume

Rempe¹,

Knudson²,

Daw³

et al. 2012

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Low drift type N thermocouples for nuclear applications

Scervini

Rae

2013

2013 3rd International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation, Measurement Methods and Their Applications (ANIMM

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Low drift type N thermocouples in out-of-pile advanced gas reactor mock-up test: Metallurgical analysis

Scervini

Palmer

Haggard

et al. 2015

2015 4th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and Their Applications (ANIMMA

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Thermocouples are the most commonly used sensors for temperature measurement in nuclear reactors. They are crucial for the control of current nuclear reactors and for the development of GEN IV reactors. In nuclear applications thermocouples are strongly affected by intense neutron fluxes. As a result of the interaction with neutrons, the thermoelements of the thermocouples undergo transmutation, which produces a time dependent change in composition and, as a consequence, a time dependent drift of the thermocouple signal. Thermocouple drift can be very significant for in-pile temperature measurements and may render the temperature sensors unreliable after exposure to nuclear radiation for relatively short times compared to the life required for temperature sensors in nuclear applications. Previous experiences with type K thermocouples in nuclear reactors have shown that they are affected by neutron irradiation only to a limited extent. Similarly type N thermocouples are expected to be only slightly affected by neutron fluxes. Currently the use of Nickel based thermocouples is limited to temperatures lower than 1000°C due to drift related to phenomena other than nuclear irradiation. As part of a collaboration between Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the University of Cambridge a variety of Type N thermocouples have been exposed at INL in an Advanced Gas Reactor mock-up test at 1150°C for 2000 h, 1200°C for 2000 h, 1250°C for 200 h and 1300°C for 200 h, and later analysed metallurgically at the University of Cambridge.The use of electron microscopy allows to identify the metallurgical changes occurring in the thermocouples during high temperature exposure and correlate the time dependent thermocouple drift with the microscopic changes experienced by the thermoelements of different thermocouple designs.In this paper conventional Inconel 600 sheathed type N thermocouples and a type N using a customized sheath developed at the University of Cambridge have been investigated. The rationale for the superior performance of the type N using a customized sheath developed at the University of Cambridge is explained in comparison with the behavior of conventional type N Inconel600 sheathed thermocouples. I. THERMOCOUPLES FOR NUCLEAR APPLICATIONSHERMOCOUPLES at high temperatures experience drift, a time dependent departure of the thermocouple signal from the real temperature of the environment. Thermocouple drift introduces a time dependent error in the temperature reading of the sensor.Metallurgical modifications occurring along the length of the thermocouple are responsible for drift. In nuclear applications thermocouples experience not only high temperatures, responsible for temperature activated microstructural or compositional changes, but also neutron irradiation, which produces:Atomic displacements generate dislocation loops and voids into the irradiated materials.With sustained irradiation the dislocation loops density increases. Macroscopically the effects are equivalent to cold work: increased hardening, reduced te...

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New Temperature Monitoring Devices for High-Temperature Irradiation Experiments in the High Flux Reactor Petten

Cited by 4 publications

References 6 publications

2012 Status Report on Efforts to Enhance Instrume

2012 Status Report on Efforts to Enhance Instrume

Low drift type N thermocouples for nuclear applications

Low drift type N thermocouples in out-of-pile advanced gas reactor mock-up test: Metallurgical analysis

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