LNF:Technology: Difference between revisions

For gamma rays irradiations CIEMAT has the ownership of a Co-60 facility with unrestricted access. The irradiations can be performed for long periods.  The Nayade facility of CIEMAT is pool-type with water as biological shield. It consists of a pool of 1.2 m on side and 4.5 m deep of water, providing enough biological shielding for about 100,000 Ci of Co-60. The pool has the equipment and systems necessary to ensure safety controls through water level, radiation detectors, control of water purity through pH and conductivity measurements. These devices are controlled in a common console. The use of water as a biological shield allows direct vision of the bottom pool that is the surface where the radiation produced and facilitates the moving and positioning the sources and extraction of samples in the different devices.

The main irradiation characteristics in Nayade are:

*Type of source; 60Co cylindrical sources (15 mm diam. x 135 mm long)12 sources are distributed in a circular way providing an inner cylindrical irradiation volume.

*Two distributions are available:1.High flux; ≤ 8.3 103Gy/h within a 60mm diameter x 100 mm long volume. 2.Low flux; ≤ 1.2x102 Gy/h within a 200 mm diameter x 100 mm long volume (in the low flux configuration the sources rotate on an outer circle for uniform dose.

*Irradiations at controlled temperatures and atmospheres, together with in-situ testing of electrical properties are also possible.

*In this device the irradiations can be carried out at controlled temperature up to 300ºC. A gas flow (as dry air or nitrogen) can be introduce during the irradiations to prevent possible effect of humidity. The uncertainty dose rate is better than 20% in a volume about 283 cm3. A picture of the irradiation  chamber (out of the irradiation pool)  can be seen in figure.

Irradiation rigs are rotinously fabricated at Ciemat workshops in order to perform irradiations at different dose rates and conditions and to perform measurements during irradiations. The equipment and devices required to perform the irradiation tests, as sensors, signal cables, standard laboratory equipment, feedthrough, environmental monitors (temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation) are available

Hardware and software with the function to acquire, record, transfer, store and process data acquired with the equipment of the irradiation test are available.