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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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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.
Gary L. Catchen, Amos Notea, Brian C. Campbell
Nuclear Technology | Volume 67 | Number 3 | December 1984 | Pages 463-472
Technical Paper | Analyse | doi.org/10.13182/NT84-A33503
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A highly collimated mobile gamma-ray spectrometer constructed by EG&G Idaho has been calibrated for full-energy peak efficiency. This spectrometer contains a high resolution intrinsic germanium detector, and it is designed for making activity measurements inside reactor containment buildings in high radiation fields. Peak efficiencies were determined for point sources positioned on and off the detector-collimator axis over an energy range from 80 to 2800 keV. The off-axis distributions were integrated to give the isotropic disk source efficiencies. These results were compared to those obtained from directly measuring a 24Na-doped aluminum foil “disk.” Theoretical disk source efficiencies were calculated using the point kernel approach. These results were normalized to the on-axis point source efficiencies. The procedure is self-consistent but it requires more detailed measurements in the future in order to provide accurate results. Once the measurements are made, however, the spectrometer system can then be used to accurately assay arbitrary distributions of surface activities. The method is also well suited for use in collimator design because leakage effects can be directly calculated.