Novel experimental setup for megahertz X-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell at the High Energy
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Liermann, H.P.↗
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Extending synchrotron SAXS instrument ranges through addition of a portable, inexpensive USAXS module with vertical rotation axes
Ultra-SAXS can enhance the capabilities of existing synchrotron SAXS/WAXS beamlines. A compact ultra-SAXS module has been developed, which extends the measurable q -range with 0.0015 ≤ q (nm −1 ) ≤ 0.2, allowing structural dimensions in the range 30 ≤ D (nm) ≤ 4000 to be probed in addition to the range covered by a high-end SAXS/WAXS instrument. By shifting the module components in and out on their respective motor stages, SAXS/WAXS measurements can be easily and rapidly interleaved with USAXS measurements. The use of vertical crystal rotation axes (horizontal diffraction) greatly simplifies the construction, at minimal cost to efficiency. In this paper, the design considerations, realization and synchrotron findings are presented. Measurements of silica spheres, an alumina membrane, and a porous carbon catalyst are provided as application examples.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Multi-step Monte Carlo calculations applied to nuclear reactor instrumentation - source definition and renormalization to physical values
Significant efforts have been made over the last few years in the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) to adopt multi-step Monte Carlo calculation schemes in the investigation and interpretation of the response of nuclear reactor instrumentation detectors (e.g. miniature ionization chambers - MICs and self-powered neutron or gamma detectors - SPNDs and SPGDs). The first step consists of the calculation of the primary data, i.e. evaluation of the neutron and gamma flux levels and spectra in the environment where the detector is located, using a computational model of the complete nuclear reactor core and its surroundings. These data are subsequently used to define sources for the following calculation steps, in which only a model of the detector under investigation is used. This approach enables calculations with satisfactory statistical uncertainties (of the order of a few %) within regions which are very small in size (the typical volume of which is of the order of 1 mm{sup 3}). The main drawback of a calculation scheme as described above is that perturbation effects on the radiation conditions caused by the detectors themselves are not taken into account. Depending on the detector, the nuclear reactor and the irradiation position, the perturbation in the neutron flux as primary data may reach 10 to 20%. A further issue is whether the model used in the second step calculations yields physically representative results. This is generally not the case, as significant deviations may arise, depending on the source definition. In particular, as presented in the paper, the injudicious use of special options aimed at increasing the computation efficiency (e.g. reflective boundary conditions) may introduce unphysical bias in the calculated flux levels and distortions in the spectral shapes. This paper presents examples of the issues described above related to a case study on the interpretation of the signal from different types of SPNDs, which were recently irradiated in the Jozef Stefan Institute TRIGA Mark II reactor in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and provides recommendations on how they can be overcome. The paper concludes with a discussion on the renormalization of the results from the second step calculations, to obtain accurate physical values. (authors)
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
Overview of the ultrasonic instrumentation research in the MYRRHA project
The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK.CEN is in the process of developing MYRRHA, a new generation IV fast flux research reactor to replace the aging BR2. MYRRHA is conceptualized as an accelerator driven system cooled with lead bismuth eutectic mixture (LBE). As LBE is opaque to visual light, ultrasonic measurement techniques are employed as the main technology to provide feedback where needed. This paper we will give an overview of the R and D at SCK.CEN with respect to ultrasonic instrumentation in heavy liquid metals. High temperature ultrasonic transducers are deployed into the reactor to generate and receive the required ultrasonic signals. The ultrasonic waves are generated and sensed by means of a piezo-electric disc at the heart of the transducer. The acoustic properties of commonly used piezo-electric materials match rather well with the acoustic properties of heavy liquid metals, simplifying the design and construction of high bandwidth ultrasonic transducers for use in heavy liquid metals. The ultrasonic transducers will operate in a liquid metal environment, where radiation and high temperature limit the choice of materials for construction. Moreover, the high surface tension of the liquid metal hinders proper wetting of the transducer, required for optimal transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves. In a first part of the paper, we will discuss the effect of these parameters on the performance of the overall ultrasonic system. In the second part of the paper, past, present and future ultrasonic experiments in LBE will be reviewed. We will show the results of an experiment where a transducer is scanned near the free surface of an LBE pool to render ultrasonic images of objects submerged in the heavy liquid metal. Additionally, the preliminary results of an ongoing experiment that measures the evolution of LBE wetting on different types of metals and various surface conditions will be reported. The evolution of wetting is an important parameter to assess the performance of ultrasonic systems that are submerged in LBE over longer time periods. In the last part we will briefly present the overall design of the two main ultrasonic systems that will be deployed in MYRRHA: the ultrasonic fuel identification system and the ultrasonic lost fuel localization system. (authors)
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Neutron Measurement Instrumentation Development at KIT for the European ITER TBM
Fusion power reactors will rely on the internal production of the fuel tritium from lithium in the tritium breeding blanket. Test Blanket Modules (TBM) will be installed in ITER with the aim to investigate the nuclear performance of different breeding blanket designs. Currently there is no fully qualified nuclear instrumentation available for the measurement of neutron fluxes and tritium production rates which would be able to withstand the harsh environment conditions in the TBM such as high temperature (>400 deg. C) and, depending on the operation scenario, intense radiation levels. As partner of the European Consortium on Nuclear Data and Measurement Techniques in the framework of several F4E specific grants and contracts, KIT and ENEA have jointly studied the possibility to develop and test detectors suitable to operate in ITER-TBMs. Here we present an overview of ongoing work on three types of neutron flux monitors under development for the TBMs with focus on the KIT activities. A neutron activation system (NAS) with pneumatic sample transport could provide absolute neutron flux measurements in selected positions. A test system for investigating activation materials with short half-lives was constructed at the DT neutron generator laboratory of Technical University of Dresden to investigate the neutronics aspects. Several irradiations have been performed with focus on the simultaneous measurement of the extracted activated probes. An engineering assessment of a TBM NAS in the conceptual design phase has been done which considered issues of design requirements and integration. Last but not least, a mechanical test bench is under construction at KIT which will address issues of driving the activation probes, solutions for loading the system etc. experimentally. Self-powered neutron detectors (SPND) are widely applied in fission reactor monitoring, and the commercially available SPNDs are sensitive to thermal neutrons. We are investigating novel materials for SPND which would be sensitive also to the fast neutron flux expected in the TBMs. To this end simulations were done with the European Activation System EASY and neutron flux spectra which were calculated with MCNP for the HCPB TBM. Preliminary tests with commercial SPND in a fast reactor were performed. As a result of these activities, several materials have been found which may be suitable for the measurement of fast neutron fluxes in the TBM. Test detectors are under preparation for testing with DT neutron generators. Within the I{sub S}MART project, funded by KIC InnoEnergy, KIT is developing an online detector based on silicon carbide electronics for the TBMs. The operation of such detectors at TBM relevant temperatures is expected to incur lower accumulated radiation damage to them than at room temperature due to annealing effects. Detectors of several designs have been already irradiated with DT neutrons. Irradiation tests at elevated temperatures have been done and further tests are currently underway. This paper summarizes the status of the work for these three neutron flux monitor systems. (authors)
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Instrumentation for Assessing DC Electrical Distribution Systems in Buildings
Direct current (DC) distribution systems is emerging as a favorable option over alternating current in buildings due to its energy and non-energy benefits (e.g., efficiency, resilience, safety). However, limited guidelines exist to evaluate the DC electrical distribution infrastructure. This paper aims to fill that gap by detailing our experience with metering a building-level electrical DC distribution system. Our case study is a DC microgrid at the Direct Energy Partners Research & Development facility located in Charlotte, North Carolina. This paper presents our approach, technical challenges, and lessons learned with DC metering and instrumentation.
buildings↗
Entangled Photon Pair Source Demonstrator Using the Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit System
Here, we report the first demonstration of using the Quantum Instrumentation and Control Kit (QICK) system on RFSoC-FPGA technology to drive the electro-optic intensity modulator that generate time-bin entangled photon pairs and to detect the photon signals. With the QICK system, we achieve high levels of performance metrics including coincidence-to-accidental ratio exceeding 150, and entanglement visibility exceeding 95%, consistent with performance metrics achieved using conventional waveform generators. We also demonstrate simultaneous detector readout using the digitization functional of QICK, achieving internal system synchronization time resolution of 3.2 ps. The work reported in this paper represents an explicit demonstration of the feasibility for replacing commercial waveform generators and time taggers with RFSoC-FPGA technology in the operation of a quantum network, representing a cost reduction of more than an order of magnitude.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Characterizations of Aged Glass/Ethylene Vinyl Acetate/Glass Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Instrumented Indentation
Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) is widely used as an encapsulant in photovoltaic devices, which are exposed to simultaneous UV irradiation, thermal, and humidity conditions. Aging behaviors of the EVA were characterized using confocal fluorescence spectroscopy with submicron scale resolutions of cross-sections of aged EVA samples. Additionally, mechanical properties of fluorescing regions in the aged EVAs where fluorescence emission was measured were investigated using a nanoindentation technique. In this study, we characterized two different formulations of EVA in glass/EVA/glass specimens after UV irradiation at 40 degrees C, 60 degrees C and 80 degrees C with 50 % relative humidity for 180 days. The fluorescence intensities on the UV irradiated sides of EVA samples were higher than those for the unexposed sides over wavelengths from 400 nm to 800 nm, and intensity differences between the two sides became more pronounced when the specimens were aged at higher temperatures. Elastic moduli of UV irradiated side for samples measured by instrumented indentation decreased, compared to unaged EVA samples, while fluorescent intensity increased with increasing the aging temperature.
14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
Optimization of X-ray event screening using ground and in-orbit data for the Resolve instrument onboard the XRISM satellite
The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) satellite was successfully launched and put into a low-Earth orbit on September 6, 2023 (UT). The Resolve instrument onboard XRISM hosts an X-ray microcalorimeter detector, which was designed to achieve a high-resolution ( ≤ 7 eV FWHM at 6 keV), high-throughput, and non-dispersive spectroscopy over a wide energy range. It also excels in a low background with a requirement of < 2 × 10 -3 s -1 keV -1 (0.3 to 12.0 keV), which is equivalent to only one background event per spectral bin per 100-ks exposure. Event screening to discriminate X-ray events from background is a key to meeting the requirement. We present the result of the Resolve event screening using data sets recorded on the ground and in orbit based on the heritage of the preceding X-ray microcalorimeter missions, in particular, the Soft X-ray Spectrometer onboard ASTRO-H. We optimize and evaluate 19 screening items of three types based on (1) the event pulse shape, (2) relative arrival times among multiple events, and (3) good time intervals. We show that the initial screening, which is applied for science data products in the performance verification phase, reduces the background rate to 1.8 × 10 -3 s -1 keV -1 meeting the requirement. We further evaluate the additional screening utilizing the correlation among some pulse shape properties of X-ray events and show that it further reduces the background rate, particularly in the < 2 keV band. Over 0.3 to 12 keV, the background rate becomes 1.0 × 10 -3 s -1 keV -1 .
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
Year 2 instrument status from the SPT-3G cosmic microwave background receiver (Conference Presentation)
The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a millimeter-wavelength telescope surveying the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The SPT measures both the temperature and polarization of the CMB with a large aperture, resulting in high-resolution maps sensitive to signals across a wide range of angular scales on the sky. With these capabilities, the SPT has the potential to constrain inflationary gravitational waves as well as the effect of massive neutrinos on large-scale structure formation. The SPT was upgraded in late 2016 with a new receiver (SPT-3G) containing 16,0000 polarization-sensitive transition-edge sensor bolometers. Several key technological developments have enabled this large-format focal, including advances in detectors, readout electronics, and large millimeter-wavelength optics. We will discuss the implementation of these technologies in the SPT-3G receiver as well as the challenges they presented. In late 2017 the implementations of all three of these technologies were iterated to optimize total performance. Here, we present the current instrument status of the SPT-3G receiver.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Adversarial Binaries: AI-guided Instrumentation Methods for Malware Detection Evasion
Adversarial binaries are executable files that have been altered without loss of function by an AI agent in order to deceive malware detection systems. Progress in this emergent vein of research has been constrained by the complex and rigid structure of executable files. Although prior work has demonstrated that these binaries deceive a variety of malware classification models which rely on disparate feature sets, a consensus as to the best approach has not been reached, either in terms of the optimization algorithms or the instrumentation methods. Furthermore, although inconsistencies in the data sets, target classifiers, and functionality verification methods make head-to-head comparisons difficult, here we extract lessons learned and make recommendations for future research.
malware obfuscation↗
Incident beam simulations for the CNCS instrument
This data set contains incident beam simulations for the 100 most frequently used configurations of the cold neutron chopper spectrometer (CNCS) instrument at the Spallation Neutron Source. A mcpl output was placed 0.2 m upstream of the sample position. Each file provides enough events to sufficiently sample the beam profile and intensity incident on the sample for that configuration. They can then be used for sample simulations.
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
Instrument Qualification of Custom Fabricated Water Activity Meter for Hot Cell Use
This report describes a custom fabricated water activity meter and the results of the qualification of this meter as described in the laboratory test plan LAB-PLN-11-00012, Testing and Validation of an Enhanced Acquisition and Control System. It was calibrated against several NaOH solutions of varying concentrations to quantify the accuracy and precision of the instrument at 20 °C and 60 °C. Also, a schematic and parts list of the equipment used to make the water activity meter will be presented in this report.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Validation of ANSI N42.34 – American National Standard Performance Criteria for Hand-Held Instruments for the Detection and Identification of Radionuclides
SRNL’s validation of ANSI N42.34-D6 for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) was performed utilizing one hand-held instrument (or RID) – the FLIR identiFINDER 2. Each section of the standard was evaluated via a walk-through or test. NOTE: In Table 1, W = walk-through and T = test, as directed by the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO). For a walk-through, the experiment was either setup or reviewed for setup; for a test, the N42.34-D6 procedures were followed with some exceptions and comments noted. SRNL is not fully able to evaluate a RID against Sections 7 (Environmental), 8 (Electromagnetic), and 9 (Mechanical) of N42.34, so those portions of this validation were done in collaboration with Qualtest, Inc. in Orlando, Florida. The walk-throughs and tests of Sections 7, 8, and 9 were performed in Qualtest, Inc. facilities with SRNL providing radiological sources as necessary. Where applicable, assessment results and findings of the walk-throughs and tests were recorded on datasheets and a validation summary is provided. A general comment pertained to test requirements found in another standard and referenced in N42.34-D6. For example, step 1 of the test method in section 8.1.2 states “RF test set up information can be found in IEC 61000-4-3.” It is recommended that any information from other standards necessary for conducting the tests within N42.34 should be posted in N42.34 for simplicity and to prevent the user from having to peruse other documents. Another general comment, as noted by Qualtest, is that a tolerance reference is not listed for each test in sections 7-9. Overall, the N42.34-D6 was proven to be practicable, but areas for improvement and recommendations were identified for consideration prior to final ballot submittal.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Differential Die-Away Instrument: Report on Fuel Assembly Mock-up Measurements with Neutron Generator
Fresh fuel experiments for the differential die-away (DDA) project were performed using a DT neutron generator, a 15x15 PWR fuel assembly, and nine 3 He detectors in a water tank inside of a shielded cell at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Eight different fuel enrichments were created using low enriched (LEU) and depleted uranium (DU) dioxide fuel rods. A list-mode data acquisition system recorded the time-dependent signal and analysis of the DDA signal die-away time was performed. The die-away time depended on the amount of fissile material in the fuel assembly and the position of the detector. These experiments were performed in support of the spent nuclear fuel Next Generation Safeguards Initiative DDA project. Lessons learned from the fresh fuel DDA instrument experiments and simulations will provide useful information to the spent fuel project.
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
SPG (Spectroscopic Planar Germanium): Field Tests and Instrument Improvements (Final Report)
The Spectroscopic Planar Germanium (SPG) has been demonstrated at the IAEA Physical Inventory Verification (PIV) in South Korea, as well as at the Joint Fuel Cycle Study at Idaho National Laboratory. These field tests were successful and provided valuable feedback from KINAC, IAEA, and national laboratory staff. This feedback was used to direct efforts to improve the instrument this year.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Condensation Particle Counter (CPC) Instrument Handbook
The Model 3772 CPC is a compact, rugged, and full-featured instrument that detects airborne particles down to 10 nm in diameter, at an aerosol flow rate of 1.0 lpm, over a concentration range from 0 to 1x104 #/cc. This CPC is ideally suited for applications without high concentration measurements, such as basic aerosol research, filter and air-cleaner testing, particle counter calibrations, environmental monitoring, mobile aerosol studies, particle shedding and component testing, and atmospheric and climate studies.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP) Instrument Handbook
Radiance Research PSAPs as described in this Handbook are deployed in the second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) Aerosol Observing System (AOS), the third ARM Mobile Facility (AMF3) AOS, ENA AOS and Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS)-A. An earlier version of the PSAP is currently operated in the ARM Aerial Facility and at SGP. The older SGP instrument is covered in a separate Handbook.
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗