High Purity Niobium for Neutron Activation Detectors

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High-purity niobium has been used successfully as a neutron detector material in advanced neutron dosimetry. Reliable and accurate neutron dosimetry measurements are needed for checking the neutron load of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) during its operation. Neutron-irradiation of the RPV material causes an embrittlement of the ferritic steel. This effect is highly relevant for safety and must be monitored. The purity standards for a good Nb detector are very high: The Nb must not have a Ta concentration of more than 1 ppm. The niobium was produced by a combination of electrolytic refining, melting processes and mechanical treatment. In this niobium, the so-called “problematic element” Ta, could not be detected by instrumental neutron activation analysis (cTa<0.005 ppm). With the niobium produced in this manner, the neutron fluence at the Water-Water Energy-Reactors type RPVs of nuclear power plants was determined. Inter-laboratory comparisons have shown the high quality of these measurements and, thus, of the niobium used as a detector material.

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