Empirical Observations on the Aging of Flux Detectors at Darlington

Abstract

In-core neutron flux detectors are used for protective and safety functions in the Darlington CANDU reactors. This paper presents observations to date regarding aging of detectors, including recent measurements of prompt fractions and lead cable behaviour during a reactor power rundown. Linear models have been used to estimate and predict the prompt fraction evolution in time using independent variables such as the integrated neutron flux at the detector location, the length of the detector lead cable and the residual current at near-zero flux.