Modeling of the Cherenkov light emission from nuclear fuel assemblies with partial defects - 355

The International Atomic Energy Agency poses requirements on the detection and verification of partial defects of nuclear fuel assemblies before being placed in difficult-to-access storage. One instrument being considered for such detection is the Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device, with which images of the Cherenkov light from fuel assemblies in storage pools can be recorded and analyzed. This paper accounts for a software tool-kit for simulating the Cherenkov photon distribution in the fuel using GEANT4. The tool-kit enables the user to access information on individual photon emission coordinates and their momentum vectors, as well as to take into account the expected rod-by-rod burnup distribution at different axial levels. An example of this modeling is demonstrated. (authors)