METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CHECKING GAS GAP IN PROCESS CHANNEL OF URANIUM-GRAPHITE REACTOR Russian patent published in 2005 - IPC

FIELD: operating uranium-graphite reactors.

SUBSTANCE: proposed method for serviceability check of process-channel gas gap in graphite stacking of RBMK-1000 reactor core includes measurement of diameters of inner holes in graphite ring block and process-channel tube, exposure of zirconium tube joined with graphite rings to electromagnetic radiation, reception of differential response signal from each graphite ring and from zirconium tube, integration of signal obtained, generation of electromagnetic field components from channel and from graphite rings, separation of useful signal, and evaluation of gap by difference in amplitudes of signals arriving from internal and external graphite rings, radiation amplitude being 3 - 5 V at frequency of 2 - 7 kHz. Device implementing this method has calibrated zirconium tube installed on process channel tube and provided with axially disposed vertically moving differential vector-difference electromagnetic radiation sensor incorporating its moving mechanism, as well as electronic signal-processing unit commutated with sensor and computer; sensor has two measuring and one field coils wound on U-shaped ferrite magnetic circuit; measuring coils of sensor are differentially connected and compensated on surface of homogeneous conducting medium such as air.

EFFECT: ability of metering gas gap in any fuel cell of reactor without removing process channel.

2 cl, 9 dwg