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Research reactor |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008) |
Research reactors are nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or submarine propulsion.
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The neutrons produced by a research reactor are used for non-destructive testing, analysis and testing of materials, production of radioisotopes, research and public outreach and education. Research reactors that produce radioisotopes for medical or industrial use are sometimes called isotope reactors. Reactors that are optimised for beamline experiments nowadays compete with spallation sources.
Research reactors are simpler than power reactors and operate at lower temperatures. They need far less fuel, and far less fission products build up as the fuel is used. On the other hand, their fuel requires more highly enriched uranium, typically up to 20% U-235, although some use 93% U-235. They also have a very high power density in the core, which requires special design features. Like power reactors, the core needs cooling, typically natural or forced convection with water, and a moderator is required to slow down the neutrons and enhance fission. As neutron production is their main function, most research reactors benefit from reflectors to reduce neutron loss from the core.
The U.S. Department of Energy initiated a program in 1978 to develop the means to convert research reactors from using highly enriched uranium to the use of low enriched uranium, in support of its nonproliferation policy. [1] By that time the U.S. had supplied research reactors and highly enriched uranium to 41 countries as part of its Atoms for Peace program. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Energy extended its Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Acceptance program until 2019. [2]
Also in 2004, the Texas A&M reactor switched to LEU after decades using HEU. These changes are a part of an anti-terrorism initiative since 9/11 headed up by the Bush Administration.
Research centers that operate a reactor:
Decommissioned research reactors:
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Armed Forces Radiobiological Research Institute · Cornell University · Idaho State University · Kansas State University · Massachusetts Institute of Technology · National Institute of Standards and Technology · North Carolina State University · Ohio State University · Oregon State University · Penn State University · Purdue University · Reed College · Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · Texas A&M University · University of Arizona · University of California · University of Florida · University of Maryland · University of Massachusetts Lowell · University of Michigan · University of Missouri-Columbia · University of Missouri-Rolla· University of New Mexico · University of Texas at Austin · University of Utah · University of Wisconsin-Madison · Washington State University · Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
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| U.S. Company Operated Research Reactors | |
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Aerotest Operations Inc. · Dow Chemical Company · General Electric Company · Rhode Island Atomic Energy Commission · U.S. Geological Survey · U.S. Veterans Administration |
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| U.S. National Labs with Nuclear Research Reactors | |
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Argonne National Laboratory · Brookhaven National Laboratory (All Shut down) · Hanford Site · Idaho National Laboratory · Oak Ridge National Laboratory · Savannah River Site |
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