Granted Patent B2

US 12,529,806 · App. 18/004,629 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Inventors: Michael D. Heibel (Broomfield, CO); Jorge Carvajal (Irwin, PA); Jeffrey Arndt (Pittsburgh, PA)

Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

G01T3/006G01T1/26

Abstract

Claims (46)

1 . A self-powered nuclear radiation detector, comprising:

a cable assembly, comprising:

a metallic signal lead;

an insulative material surrounding the metallic signal lead; and

a metallic sheath surrounding the insulative material;

a temperature compensation assembly, comprising:

a second metallic signal lead;

a second insulative material surrounding the second metallic signal lead; and

a second metallic sheath surrounding the second insulative material; and

a metallic outer sheath surrounding the cable assembly and the temperature compensation assembly.

2 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein the temperature compensation assembly is adjacent to and parallel to the cable assembly.

3 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein an overall length of the temperature compensation assembly is equal to an overall length of the cable assembly.

4 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein an overall length of the second metallic signal lead is equal to an overall length of the metallic signal lead.

5 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein an overall length of the second insulative material is equal to an overall length of the insulative material.

6 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein an overall length of the second metallic sheath is equal to an overall length of the metallic sheath.

7 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein a radial dimension of the temperature compensation assembly is equal to a corresponding radial dimension of the cable assembly.

8 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein a radial dimension of the second metallic signal lead is equal to a corresponding radial dimension of the metallic signal lead.

9 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein a radial dimension of the second insulative material is equal to a corresponding radial dimension of the insulative material.

10 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein a radial dimension of the second metallic sheath is equal to a corresponding radial dimension of the metallic sheath.

11 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein the temperature compensation assembly is congruent with the cable assembly.

12 . The self-powered nuclear radiation detector of claim 1 , wherein the metallic signal lead comprises at least one of the following:

cobalt;

cadmium;

rhodium; and

vanadium.

13 . A method of correcting a temperature-related change in an output current of a self-powered nuclear radiation detector, the method comprising:

exposing the self-powered nuclear radiation detector to nuclear radiation from a fixed source;

measuring an output current of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at a plurality of different temperatures;

measuring an insulation resistance of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures;

measuring an insulation resistance of a temperature compensation assembly of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures;

determining a slope of a relationship between (1) a measured change of the output current of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures and (2) a measured change of the insulation resistance of the temperature compensation assembly of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures;

determining a product of (1) the determined slope and (2) the measured change of the insulation resistance of the temperature compensation assembly of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures; and

adding the determined product to the measured output current of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures to determine a temperature-corrected value of the output current of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the nuclear radiation comprises neutron radiation.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the nuclear radiation further comprises gamma radiation.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

measuring a gamma radiation induced current in the temperature compensation assembly of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector; and

subtracting the measured gamma radiation induced current in the temperature compensation assembly of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector from the temperature-corrected value of the output current of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures.

17 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising utilizing at least one of the following to measure the insulation resistance of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures:

a multimeter; and

a megger device.

18 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising utilizing at least one of the following to measure the insulation resistance of the temperature compensation assembly of the self-Dowered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures:

a multimeter; and

a megger device.

19 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising determining a reactor power level based on the corrected value of the output current of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures.

20 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising determining a distribution of reactor power based on the temperature-corrected value of the output current of the self-powered nuclear radiation detector at the plurality of different temperatures.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (42)