Particulate Activity Accumulated on A Moving Filter and RCS Leak Detection

摘要

Analytical equations for calculating the particulate activity accumulated on a moving filter of a containment air particulate radiation monitor due to a reactor coolant system leak in the containment, including the noble gas decay products, were presented. The particulate airborne concentration in the containment was treated by assumptions of a constant reactor coolant leak rate at a constant concentration, a given aerosolizing fraction, a constant removal coefficient to account for the loss due to diffusion, settling, diffusiophoresis, and containment air recircu-lation operation. The ratio of moving-to-fixed filter activity was presented for radionuclide of various half-lives and for different filter moving speeds. The monitor response at one hour after the initiation of a 1-gallon per minute leak at measured reactor coolant concentrations was compared to the standard deviation of the background count rate for an operating pressurized water reactor. The detectability of a 1-gallon per minute leak in an hour can be demonstrated if the aerosolization percentage of the radionuclide in the leaked coolant is at least a few percent.