Gamma Scanning of Full Scale HTR Fuel Elements

Gamma scanning for the determination of burnup and fission product inventory has been developed at the Dragon Project, suitable for measurements on fuel elements and segments from full-sized integral block elements. This involved the design and construction of a new lead flask with sophisticated collimator design. State-of-the-art gamma spectrometric equipment was set up to cope with strong variations of count-rate and high data throughput. Software efforts concentrated on the calculation of the self absorption and absorption corrections in the complicated geometry of multi-hole graphite block segments with a corrugated circumference. The techniques described here are applicable to the non-destructive examination of a wide range of fuel element designs. (author)