| The material irradiation rigs are used for irradiation tests of material samples containing no nuclear material. They are intended for use in obtaining data concerning the behavior of materials under fast neutron irradiation, and grouped into two types by irradiation location, in the fuel and reflector regions. Normally, the sample is mounted in a holder or an irradiation capsule that is installed into any of six compartments. In addition, the irradiation capsule can be installed in the shaft center tube. |
Methods for controlling the temperature of irradiation samples as desired include changing the concentrations of argon and helium gases.
It is possible to adopt an offline irradiation rig (shuttle-type irradiation rigs) structure which allows for disassembly after irradiation to remove the irradiated capsules, and reassembly of the rigs after installing a new irradiation capsule for restart of irradiation.
In this case, it is possible to shorten the duration between preparation for irradiation and PIE as well as realize effective utilization of irradiation rigs. |
