Estimation of Na-24 activity concentration in BAEC TRIGA Research Reactor

The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) TRIGA Research Reactor is a unique nuclear installation of the country generally implemented for a wide variety of research applications and serves as an excellent source of neutron. During reactor operation it is necessary to measure and control the ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: M. Ajijul Hoq, M.A. Malek Soner, M.A. Salam, Salma Khanom, S.M. Fahad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2017-01-01
Series:Results in Physics
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379717300566
Description
Summary:The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) TRIGA Research Reactor is a unique nuclear installation of the country generally implemented for a wide variety of research applications and serves as an excellent source of neutron. During reactor operation it is necessary to measure and control the activity concentration of the pool water for fuel element failure detection and for the determination of contamination. The present study deals with the estimation of activity concentration for Na-24 present in water coolant produced as a result of 23Na (n, γ) 24Na reaction. Several governing equations have been employed to estimate the Na-24 activity concentrations theoretically at different reactor power levels including maximum reactor power of 2.4 MW. From the obtained result it is ensured that the estimated Na-24 activity of 8.83 × 10−3 μCi/cm3 is not significant enough for any radiological hazard. Thus for ensuring radiological safety issues of the research reactor the assessment performed under the present study has an implication. Keywords: TRIGA Research Reactor, Na-24, Activity concentration, Purification system, Water impurity, Radiological safety
ISSN:2211-3797