Means and techniques useful in the monitoring and accountability of radioactive materials
AssigneeGeoscience Ltd.
InventorHeinz F. Poppendiek
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Afterheat being released from a radioactive storage system is measured and monitored. Changes in heat release with respect to time is related to expected radioactive decay processes of the confined radioactive materials. Material leakage from storage is detected and defined by deviations from the normal expected heat release-time function being monitored. Such deviations or lack of deviations, as the case may be, provide the desired accountability of the radioactive materials.
Claims9
A radioactive material storage system, and a heat flux sensor system positioned on said storage system to surround the same in (a) the path of all anticipated heat flow being developed by radioactive materials while still in said storage system, said heat flow path being in a direction outwardly of said storage system and through said sensor system, said sensor system producing an output representative of the quantity of said heat flow.
In a system for determining information related to the presence of radioactive materials in a radioactive storage system, the step of measuring (the) a quantity representative of the flow of all heat being produced in (a direction0 all directions out of said storage system by said materials in said storage system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.