Evaluation of radcal gamma thermometers for in-core monitoring of Savannah River Site production reactors

The Savannah River Site (SRS) recently obtained a quantity of Radcal Gamma Thermometer Assemblies (RGTAs) for in-core monitoring of local power in their production reactors. The RGTAs, manufactured by DELTA M Corporation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, contained seven Self Calibrating Gamma Thermometer (SCGT) sensors within a 7.26 mm diameter, 3.06 m length with a total length of 5.6 m. All RGTAs contained an isolated segmented heater cable for in-situ calibration. Each SCGT sensor was subjected to a 40 point calibration at discrete power levels from 0.5 to 6 watts per gram (w/g) under both joule and cable power. Calibration equations were developed from this to predict reactor power at each sensor. Additionally three units were calibrated at combined joule and cable heating conditions from 0.5 to 2.5 w/g cable and 0.5 to 6 w/g joule. A statistical analysis of all data was used to derive prediction equations that enable SRS engineers to precisely track any changes in sensor calibration throughout the lifetime of the instruments. This paper presents the detailed configuration of the 36 units manufactured for SRS, reviews the calibration results, and discusses the utility and accuracy of the statistically derived prediction equations for in-situ calibration.