Report on the repair of the OPAL neutron beam transport system
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Date
2013-10-13
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Group On Research Reactors
Abstract
The OPAL research reactor commenced operation early in 2007, and has been in continuous operation for most of the time since then. Initial characterization measurements of the cold and thermal neutron beams that feed the neutron guide hall confirmed the high fluxes that had been predicted in the design process [1], [2]. However, by 2011 it was clear that the performance of the neutron guide system had degraded substantially. Investigation revealed that the degradation resulted from delamination of the guides. The root cause was build-up of mechanical stress in the glass substrates due to alpha radiation produced during neutron capture by boron in the glass. Remediation involved replacement of 72 metres of the neutron guide system with guides that use glass substrates which have higher radiation resistance. Neutron flux and spectrum measurements have since verified that the performance of the system has largely been restored. Preliminary measurements at the neutron spectrometers since repair reveal flux increases in the range of 40 % to 90 % relative to 2011. © The Authors
Description
Keywords
Neutron beams, Neutron flux, Neutron spectrometers, OPAL Reactor, Performance, Radiations, Repair, ANSTO
Citation
Pullen, S., Davidson, G., Pangelis, S., Klose, F., & Kennedy, S. (2013). Report on the repair of the OPAL neutron beam transport system. Paper presented at the 15th meeting of the International Group on Research Reactors, "IGORR 15", 13-18 Oct 2013, Daejeon, South Korea, Retrieved from: https://www.igorr.com/Documents/2013-DAEJEON/02_1026.pdf