Automatic Start-Up of a Research Reactor, (II)

Abstract

As a step toward putting into practice full range automatic start-up of a research reactor, this paper describes first the design problem of a logarithmic counting-rate and period meter (LCRPM) used for period control in the counter range. The design basis is to find the optimum point of compromise between requirements such as smaller period signed fluctuations and faster response of the LCRPM, under the condition that the pulse sequence coming from a fission counter is Poisson- distributed. The LCRPM thus optimized was then applied to automatic start-up experiments with JRR-1, ranging in power level from 3 mW (or 20 cps) up to about 2 kW. The experiments demonstrated the applicability of the design method and the feasibility of full range automatic start-up.