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NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Samim Anghaie, Larry L. Humphries, Nils J. Diaz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 91 | Number 3 | September 1990 | Pages 376-387
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34458
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The differential gamma scattering spectroscopy technique is a novel means of nondestructive testing using Compton scattering to determine local density perturbations in a test sample. A narrow collimated beam of gamma rays irradiates a test sample, and the scattered radiation field is detected in a transversely placed high-purity germanium detector. This detector provides excellent energy resolution so that a detailed energy spectrum can be obtained. This spectrum is then subtracted from a reference spectrum that was collected from a well-known, unflawed sample to obtain the differential spectrum. This differential spectrum contains information characterizing the flaw. Using the relationship between scattering angle and scattering energy that characterizes Compton scattering, the single-scattered spectrum can be used to determine the location of scattering and, consequently, the density distribution along the portion of the primary beam path that passes through the sample. An attractive feature of this technique that distinguishes it from other Compton scattering techniques is the ability to detect flaws both on and off the primary beam path. A series of experiments was conducted to assess the sensitivity of the detection system for different sizes and shapes of flaws located throughout the sample. The results of these experiments are analyzed.