Utilizing of Spent Fuel Storage Pool in Gamma Irradiation Experiments

Abstract

The objective of this study is suggesting a new method for gamma irradiating experiment using spent fuel elements (SFEs). An irradiation device was developed to contain the sample during the gamma irradiation process under water in spent fuel storage pool. The maximum burned fuel elements were used as a source of gamma rays with intensity and energy spectrum depend on the decay time from the reactor core withdrawal. A SFE configuration was introduced to verify an ideal condition of irradiating the sample with uniform gamma flux. The gamma dose rate inside the sample chamber was calculated using SCALE/MAVRIC code for the SFEs configuration source at decay times ranging between 0 and 5 years. A relationship was introduced to obtain the required accumulated dose depending on choosing the proper SFE configuration with the proper irradiation time.