On-stream measurement of heavy water concentration by intermediate neutron moderation

Abstract

A method of measuring heavy water concentration is described based on intermediate neutron moderation. With a 1.6 μg²⁵²Cf neutron source and a BF₃ proportional counter, for 500 ml samples, accuracies of the measurements are within ±0.02 mol% in the concentration range of 0∼100 mol% with 2∼10 minute counting. To evaluate the practical effectiveness of the method, a model apparatus was built for routine use in laboratory and on-stream measurements. It was successfully applied to observe the substitution process between light water and heavy water in an ion exchange resin tower at a nuclear power station.