A CLAD NUCLEAR FUEL BODY FACILITATING FUEL LEAK DETECTION IN A NUCLEAR REACTOR

摘要

1,248,489. Fuel elements. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. 15 May, 1969 [15 May, 1968], No. 24885/69. Heading G6C. In a nuclear reactor fuel element leak detection system, each fuel element of the reactor core contains a different identifiable gas mixture. A leaking element is detected by an analysis of the gases in the core. An inert filler gas and an indicating gas consisting of varying proportions of two stable isotopes of another inert gas are placed within the fuel can. A plenum chamber in each fuel can contains the gases and the fission product gases. The filler gas may be helium and the indicating gas is a mixture of the neon-20 and neon-22 isotopes. Other mixtures may be helium-3 and helium-4, or Argon 36, 38 and 40.