METHOD FOR MEASURING HELIUM CONCENTRATION IN A FUEL ELEMENT Russian patent published in 2023 - IPC G21C17/00 

FIELD: fuel elements.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a method for measuring the helium concentration in a fuel element. The method includes placing a portion of the shell of the gas volume of a fuel element at the position of measuring its temperature, recording the initial temperature of the segment of the shell of the fuel element, subsequent heating of the section of the shell of the gas volume of the fuel element, recording the temperature of the fuel element shell during heating and cooling of the fuel element shell, processing the obtained temperature dependences and calculating the helium concentration in the fuel element based on them. Heating is carried out in multiple cycles, preferably at least sixteen times, with periodic alternation of heating and cooling operations. During cyclic heating-cooling of the fuel element shell, a monotonous increase in the shell temperature from cycle to cycle is provided by obtaining the cooling temperature of the said shell at least in one cycle, preferably in all cycles, above its initial heating temperature. During the last cooling cycle, the temperature of the fuel element shell is smoothly reduced to the required one.

EFFECT: increasing the accuracy of measuring the helium concentration in the fuel element by eliminating the random component of the measurement error of the informative sign of the helium concentration in the fuel element.

1 cl, 1 dwg