Speaker
Description
Antineutrino emissions carry information about the core nuclide ratio in an active reactor core as the emitted antineutrino energy spectrum is directly dependent on the core isotope content. Of special interest are small changes in core content over time, as these directly relate to burn-up and material insertion or extraction, e.g. during refuelling. However, the sensitivity of a detection system to such small changes is critically dependent on the reactor power, stand-off distance and allowed measurement period.
The AMIR (Antineutrino Measurement of Isotopes in Reactors) study determines the spectral sensitivity of a model 1-ton near field detector system, based on existing anti-neutrino monitoring efforts, for a number of model reactors. Among these reactors are small research reactors as well as the Wylfa Magnox Power Plant, where a prototype antineutrino monitoring system has been deployed in the past, providing a known benchmark. For each model core, a sensitivity map has been produced, allowing the comparison of sensitivity to core change against measurement time and distance. This work is also extended for generic reactor cores is presented. This general model uses core fission ratios, thermal power and reactor building size as well as a desired confidence level and time window for the measurement as inputs to the code to determine the maximum distance for the desired sensitivity or maximum sensitivity achievable at a fixed distance.
