Automatic Spent Fuel ID Number Reader

An effective and efficient technique has been developed for facilitating identification works of LWR spent fuel stored in large scale spent fuel storage pools of such as reprocessing plants. Experience shows that there are often difficulties in the implementation of operator's nuclear material accountancy and control works as well as safeguards inspections conducted on spent fuel assemblies stored in deep water pool. The technique is realized as an automatic spent fuel ID number reader system installed on fuel handling machine. The ID number reader system consists of an optical sub-system and an image processing subsystem. Thousands of spent fuel assemblies storded in under water open racks in each storage pool could be identified within relatively short time («g.within several hours) by using this combination. Various performance tests were carried out on image processing sub-system in 1990 using TV images obtained from different types of spent fuel assemblies stored in various storage pools of PWR and BWR power stations. The performance and reliability for practical use of the ID number reader system has been proven through the tests.