CIAE Neutron Measurement Patent for Nuclear Waste Wins China Patent Excellence Award

On August 28, the results of the 26th China Patent Award, the highest government honor in China's intellectual property field, were announced. The invention patent for the "calibration method of a neutron measurement device for drummed nuclear waste," completed by Zhu Liqun, Senior Engineer, and Xu Xiaoming, Associate Researcher, from the Department of Radiochemistry at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), won the China Patent Excellence Award. Since 2020, CIAE has won the China Patent Award for six consecutive sessions, securing a total of 11 awards including 2 gold and 1 silver medals, further demonstrating the institute's formidable strength in technological innovation and intellectual property.

Neutron measurement device for nuclear waste

The invention patent for the "calibration method of a neutron measurement device for drummed nuclear waste" has achieved multiple "world firsts": it pioneered the development of a calibration method for waste drum classification detection devices, proposing an experimental scheme of block-weighted calibration for medium drums; it was the first to propose and apply a correction factor satisfying the functional relationship between equivalent count rate and reference point count rate, greatly improving calibration efficiency; based on the calibration method proposed in this patent, a full-chain technical system for neutron measurement of drummed nuclear waste was constructed for the first time, realizing the engineering application of waste drum classification detection devices, marking China's full-chain independent innovation in this field from core methods to complete systems.

In recent years, CIAE has continuously intensified its efforts in the creation, application, protection, management, and service of intellectual property, driving quality and efficiency improvements across the entire IP chain. It has successively received honors such as "First Batch of Leading Engineering Implementation Units for IP among Central Enterprises in Beijing," "National IP Advantage Enterprise," "Beijing IP Demonstration Unit," and "Outstanding Enterprise IP Management Team in China," and was selected as one of the "First Batch of National IP Demonstration Research Institution Creation Targets," becoming the first research institution under CNNC to pass the "dual-standard" certification of the IP management system. The institute has comprehensively strengthened the planning and management of China Patent Award applications, and, based on its patent work characteristics, established a CIAE-featured "Patent + Technology + Management" China Patent Award management system, effectively improving application quality and contributing to the institute's repeated successes in the China Patent Award selection.