Electronics in Nuclear Science and Technology

Electronics plays a vital role in the field of nuclear research and industry. Nuclear instrumentation and control systems rely heavily on electronics for reliable plant operation and to ensure personnel safety from harmful radiations. Rapid developments in electronics have resulted in the gradual phasing out of pneumatic instruments and replacement by solid-state electronic systems. On-line computers are now being used extensively for centralised monitoring and control of large nuclear plants.The paper covers the following main topics: (i) Radiation Detection and Measurement, (ii) Systems for Nuclear Research and Design, (iii) Nuclear Reactor Control and Safety Systems and (iv) Modern Trends in Reactor Control and Nuclear Instrumentation Systems.The methods for radiation detection, ionization chambers, self-powered detectors and semiconductor detectors are discussed in brief, followed by the description of the electronic systems commonly used in nuclear research, namely the Pulse height, Multichannel, Correlation and Fourier analysers. NIM and CAMAC, the electronic system standards used in nuclear laboratories/industries are also outlined. Electronic systems used for nuclear reactor control, safety, reactor core monitoring, failed fuel detection and process control instrumentation, have been described. The application of computers to reactor control, plant data processing, better man-machine interface and the use of multiple computer systems for achieving better reliability have also been discussed. Micro-computer based instrumentation systems, computers in reactor safety and advanced nuclear instrumentation techniques are briefly illustrated.