Study of the sensitivity of the neutrino's detector of the ANGRA Project to the effects of the nuclear fuel burn-up

Author(s)

Thiago Junqueira de Castro Bezerra

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin
• Defense date: 2009-11-09

Examining board members

Ernesto Kemp; João Carlos Costa dos Anjos; Pedro Cunha de Holanda

• Advisor: Ernesto Kemp

Abstract

Nuclear reactors are a profuse neutrino source, which spectrum is determined by the beta decay of the fissile isotopes in the nuclear fuel. While the fuel is consumed, the isotopic composition changes, resulting in trends on the neutrino spectrum. So, we investigated in this work the viability of monitoring a reactor of a nuclear power plant with a neutrino detector, knowing its state of activity. We also investigated the temporal evolution of the response time of the detector in function of the gradual burn of the fuel. Therefore, with some confidence levels, we determined the needed time of data taking to identify fuel changes, in a PWR power plant, related to the beginning of operation. Consequently, these results make the detection of antineutrinos of nuclear reactors an additional method to nuclear safeguards (AU)