Reactivity worth measurement of the control blades of the university of Florida Training Reactor

Abstract-A series of experiments were carried out in order to measure the reactivity worth of the safety and regulating blades of the University of Florida Training Reactor (UFTR) using the Inverse Kinetics, the Inverse KineticsRod Drop method and the Power Ratio. The reactorʹs own instrumentation (compensated ion chamber) and an independent counting system (fission chamber) were used. A very smooth exponential decay of the flux was observed after 6 s of the beginning of the transients using the reading of the reactor detector. The results of the measurements of the reactivity using both detectors were consistent and in good agreement. The compensated ion chamber showed a very smooth exponential behavior; this suggests that if we could record the power for a small sample time, say 0.1 s from the beginning of the transient, several additional research projects could be accomplished. First, precise intercomparison of the methods could be achieved if the statistics level is acceptable. Second, a precise description of the bouncing of the blades and its effects on the reactivity could be achieved. Finally, the design of a reactivity-meter could be based on such study