Year
1998
Abstract
Recent enhancements to the VXI Integrated Fuel Monitor (VIFM) have given this system the capability of operating with an extended set of nuclear detectors. The existing wide range gamma and neutron detection capabilities have been expanded to include detector authentication, Cadmium Telluride and remotely located fission chamber. The most innovative development is the authenticated detector. This capability has long been a desirable feature had not been possible due to the need for highly radiation-hardened electronics, this problem has been overcome with the use of highly miniaturized discrete circuitry. Another desirable function that has not been available in the VIFM is that if spectrographic measurement. This again is now possible with the development of a complete end-toend Cd-Te signal processing chain that can take advantage of the multi-channel SCA capabilities that where built into the original VIFM. The final addition to the detector set is the remote fission chamber, again this has been a desirable feature as it is now possible to remotely locate highly reliable fission chamber detectors within inaccessible areas, while leaving related amplifier electronics in an easily accessed location. The addition of these new categories ensures that the advanced capabilities of the VIFM system can be quickly and easily deployed in a variety of new applications. This paper discusses the design features of these new capabilities as well as the supporting virtual instruments toolkit which provides the technician and the inspector with the ability to view and control the unique aspects of each detector type.