UV-SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF BERYLLIUM AND CARBON FOR DETERMINING NUCLEAR REACTOR FUEL ELEMENT CONSUMPTION

摘要

A method of determining the consumption of fuel elements for nuclear reactors, according to which the fuel is contained in a graphite covering or matrix. Traces of the component parts of the surface of a fuel element are volatized in an electric arc, and the arc light is split up by means of a UV-spectrograph. Subsequently, the lines of the carbon and of the beryllium formed during the irradiation in the reactor are scattered, whereupon the intensity proportion of one or more of the beryllium lines lying in the UV region and one or more of the carbon lines lying in the UV region are compared with one another.