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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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New coolants, new fuels: A new generation of university reactors
Here’s an easy way to make aging U.S. power reactors look relatively youthful: Compare them (average age: 43) with the nation’s university research reactors. The 25 operating today have been licensed for an average of about 58 years.
D. P. Brown, W. G. Spear
Nuclear Technology | Volume 23 | Number 1 | July 1974 | Pages 87-93
Technical Paper | Instrument | doi.org/10.13182/NT74-A31436
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A detector using a gas-flow technique to measure the in-core fast neutron flux was designed, developed, and experimentally tested. Based on the 9Be(n,α)6He reaction of neutrons with beryllium, the method uses a flowing gas (helium) to bring the 6He beta emitter to an ex-vessel beta detector to achieve measurements independent of the gamma irradiation of the in-vessel neutron detector. In tests at the TRIGA reactor of Washington State University, the system demonstrated a fast neutron sensitivity of 3.7 × 10−10 counts/sec per n/(cm2 sec). Thus, using appropriate counting techniques, the technique could have an operational range of 109 to 1016n/(cm2 sec).