"Signal Simulator of Spectrometer Detectors at the HRFD of the IBR-2M Reactor"

V. V. Shvetsov, N. V. Gorbunov, V. A. Drozdov

Almost the whole complex of spectrometers of the IBR-2M reactor is equipped with MPD data acquisition electronic system developed at FLNP and designed for processing and accumulating data from an array of point neutron detectors. In accordance with the development programmes of spectrometers, with an increase in the number of detector beamlines and neutron flux, requirements for data acquisition systems are increased. Currently, a new data acquisition system based on MPD-32 units is under development and debugging at FLNP. However, as a result of the shutdown of the reactor for a long period, complete tests of the MPD-32 system on spectrometers are impossible.
The aim of this paper was to develop a test stand with a simulator of reactor signals, choppers and detectors for the data acquisition system on the HRFD spectrometer of the IBR-2M reactor. Such a system will allow testing and complex debugging of the data acquisition system under laboratory conditions. The test stand provides generating of signals of a multichannel detector system with simulation of a typical time-of-flight spectrum of thermal neutrons at HRFD, FSD and other facilities. To estimate the maximum data acquisition rate of the MPD-32 system, the stand provides simulation of adjustable flux intensity for 32 detector signals and neutron chopper signals.