Load cell monitoring in Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants: Potentialities for improved safeguard verifications

This paper describes the principle of load cell monitoring in Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants (GCEPs) and how this technique can be implemented in order to improve nuclear safeguards in these kinds of installations.We present a few different possibilities of exploitation of the data that can be obtained by acquiring in continuous mode the weights of the cylinders in the feed and withdrawal (F/W) stations and how to derive conclusions concerning the operation of the plant (conformity or not with respect to “normal” operation).Furthermore the different diversion scenarios for GCEP are discussed and we show how mass monitoring techniques can contribute to detect each of them.Finally we resume the advantages and limitations of the technique and outline some important practical issues concerning the implementation of process monitoring in GCEP, in particular for what concerns the inspectorate/operator relationships.Load cell monitoring could play an important role in the safeguard implementation of future GCEPs.

Research highlights▶ Status of safeguard regime in Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants. ▶ Technical feasibility of continuous monitoring of load cell weights. ▶ Data treatment and application to monitoring of plant operation. ▶ Detection of diversion scenarios. ▶ Conclusions about the practical implementation of load cell monitoring in the verification of GCEP.