Determination of the self-powered neutron detectors (SPND) sensitiveness (SPND) of vanadium performed in the RA-3 reactor

This work sums up the experimental determination of the self-powered neutron detectors absolute sensitiveness (electric current of the detector per unit of thermal neutronic flow) (SPND) of the vanadium manufactured by the CNEA, and which will be placed in the Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant. First, determination of the epithermal spectral index φ was performed in a central position of the RA-3 core using the cadmium ratio technique through the activation method of foils (in this case, gold) and the application of the Westcott formalism. The absolute thermal flow was determined by the foils irradiation of 59Co jointly with the SPND to be calibrated in the same position where the gold was irradiated