A Microprocessor Controlled Reactivity Meter for Real Time Monitoring of Reactors

Using a General Instrument 1600 microprocessor, a compact reactivity meter for real time monitoring of reactors has been developed. The microprocessor was programmed to solve the inverse kinetics equations using the digitized output of an ionization chamber neutron detector for the power history. Use of the simplest programming steps and emphasis of hardware for input/output operations enabled reactivity updates every 0.1 seconds. The device can be easily adapted to any reactor system with a power output signal once the kinetic parameters are known and incorporated into the processor program.