Thurning Instruments Ltd has nearly completed the development of three new radiation detectors. Preliminary specifications will be added to our Products page shortly. Meanwhile, here are brief descriptions of the new instruments:

XRF700 is an "energy dispersive" detector, based on a proportional counter tube. It is an integrated design, incorporating the functions of detector, power supply and multi-channel analyser into one unit. The output signal is RS485, using a similar protocol to our RMS1000 and RMS2000 systems, but the data is transmitted in the form of a spectrum. XRF700 was developed for alloy compensation of an X-ray thickness gauge in a strip rolling mill; however, the flexibility of the design makes it suitable for a range of other applications.

Thurning Instruments Ltd has recently delivered the ¹³⁷Cs radiation source and RMS1000 SZ50/70 detector for a special purpose NDT densitometer. A major manufacturer of pressed components in Germany will use the instrument for inspecting products that will have a critical role in a very high value process.

Thurning Instruments Ltd and INCO Europe Ltd completed the installation of a new gauging system at INCO's Clydach Nickel Refinery, near Swansea.

This is a difficult measurement on a highly unusual metallic material. This material is manufactured in a large vessel using a very toxic process gas.

The X-ray gauge is all outside the vessel, which was an essential requirement due to the process that INCO are using.

This photograph shows the X-ray unit, contained in an interlocked steel cabinet.

The detector cabinet, on the other side of the process vessel.

The gauge control panel, with interlocks and calibration controls.

The system has a manual calibration system, but a remotely operated automatic calibration tester. Re-calibration is only likely to be required once a year or so, but the calibration can be checked and minor adjustments made for each process batch.

We have moved our calibration laboratory from Honiton to a building on the same site as our main office in Wootton Fitzpaine.

Many thanks to Staplethorne Ltd. who have given us space to carry out our testing and calibration in Honiton over the last two years.

Our new laboratory and workshop will save us a lot of time both for production of our existing range of instruments and for development of new systems.

The workshop is nearing completion and the laboratory facilities are already in use for calibration and development work.

The three beam densitometer pictured on our home page was successfully commissioned last week.

The densitometer is shown here in our Honiton (UK) radiation laboratory.

The instrument is installed on a reactor safety experiment at KFKI in Budapest, Hungary. The experimental rig is being upgraded as part of the EC's PHARE programme.

The densitometer will be used in the "hot leg" of the experimental rig. It will be used with turbine flow meters to measure the coolant mass flow in the hot leg during simulated accident conditions.

The complete mass flow meter was supplied to KFKI by Siemens KWU of Erlangen, Germany. The densitometer was designed and built by Thurning Instruments Ltd. (physics and electronics) and Konstandin & Partner Engineering GmbH (mechanical). The turbine flow meters were supplied by CEN-Grenoble (a division of the CEA, France) with Thurning 8402 Carrier Frequency Amplifiers.