Nuclear safeguards using Cherenkov light

When used nuclear fuel is stored in water, a characteristic blue Cherenkov light is emitted in the water around the fuel assembly. Gamma radiation from fission products in the nuclear fuel interacts with electrons in the water, and the Cherenkov light is created as electromagnetic shock fronts from the electrons moving faster than light through the water.

The amount of Cherenkov light can be measured in order to characterise the fuel in a storage pool using for instance the Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD). The instrument is approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for verification of nuclear fuel with respect to gross defects (if an item in a storage pool is an actual fuel or not) as well as partial defects (if parts of fuel rods have been removed or replaced). The instrument, the prediction capability and the analysis methodology was studied and improved in the PhD project Studies of Cherenkov light emission and detection for nuclear safeguards purposes, and research has continued since then.

Selected publications

E. Branger, S. Grape, P. Jansson, Partial defect detection using the DCVD and a segmented Region-Of-Interest, Journal of Instrumentation, Vol. 15 (2020)

E. Branger, S. Grape, P. Jansson, Verifying PWR assemblies with rod cluster control assembly inserts using a DCVD. The ESARDA Bulletin, No. 58 (2019).

E. Branger, S. Grape, P. Jansson, S. Jacobsson Svärd, On the inclusion of light transport in prediction tools for Cherenkov light intensity assessment of irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies, Journal of Instrumentation, vol. 14 (2019)

E. Branger, Enhancing the performance of the Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device: Detecting partial defects in irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies using Cherenkov light, Doctoral thesis, Uppsala University, ISBN: 978-91-513-0415-1 (2018)

E. Branger, S. Grape, P. Jansson, E. Andersson Sundén, Investigating the Cherenkov light production due to cross-talk in closely stored nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage. The ESARDA Bulletin, No. 57 (2018)

E. Branger, S. Grape, P. Jansson, S. Jacobsson Svärd, Experimental study of background subtraction in Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device measurements. Journal of Instrumentation, Vol. 13, No 8 (2018)

E. Branger, S. Grape, S. Jacobsson Svärd, P. Jansson, Experimental evaluation of models for predicting Cherenkov light intensities from short-cooled nuclear fuel assemblies. Journal of Instrumentation, Volume 13 (2018)

E. Branger, S. Grape, S. Jacobsson Svärd, P. Jansson, E. Andersson Sundén, Comparison of prediction models for Cherenkov light emissions from nuclear fuel assemblies. Journal of Instrumentation, Volume 12, No. 6 (2017)