Design of temperature controlled instrumented irradiation capsule for irradiation experiments in FBTR

A novel temperature controlled instrumented irradiation capsule (TCIIC) is designed and developed to control the temperature in the specimens being irradiated irrespective of varying power levels in fast breeder test reactor (FBTR). To achieve this objective, a gas-gap space filled with inert gas (helium) and heater cartridges in the surrounding of the capsule are incorporated. The design of TCIIC is arrived after computational simulation studies at different operating conditions of the reactor. An out of pile version of TCIIC has been developed and experiments are carried out in the electrical furnace. The experimental results show the feasibility to control and maintain higher temperatures in the specimens irrespective of surrounding temperature. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.