Session I.4.8
Part I Review of Fundamentals
Module 4 Sources of Radiation
Session 8 Research Reactors
4/2003 Rev 2
IAEA Post Graduate Educational Course
Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources
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Overview
 In this session we will discuss the types of
Research Reactors
 We will also discuss where these Research
Reactors are located
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Introduction
 Research Reactors
 Not used to generate electrical power
 Produce neutrons for various uses
 Use higher enriched 235U than power
reactors
 Approximately 241 worldwide
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Types
 Pool type (67 units)
 Curved aluminum clad fuel plates
 Control rods
 Water for moderation and cooling
 Beryllium or graphite neutron reflectors
common
 Empty channels for experiments
 Apertures for neutron beams
 Tank Type (32 units)
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Types
 TRIGA (40 units)
 60-100 cylindrical fuel elements (36 mm
diameter)
 Uranium fuel and zirconium hydride
moderator
 Water for moderation and cooling
 Beryllium or graphite neutron reflectors
common
 Pulsed up to 25,000 MW
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Types
Type
Number
Critical assemblies (zero power)
60
Test reactors
23
Training facilities
37
Prototypes
2
Generating electricity
1
Research
160
Some produce radioisotopes
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Types
 Some moderated by heavy water (12 units)
or graphite
 Some are fast reactors (no moderator and
mixed U - Pu fuel)
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Fuel
 Typically plates or cylinders
of Uranium-Aluminum alloy
clad with pure Aluminum
compared to ceramic UO2
pellets in power reactors
 Typically a few kilograms
 High enriched uranium (HEU) >20% 235U
compared to 3-5% for power reactors
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Fuel
 Security concerns over the use of HEU have led to
development of high-density, low-enriched uranium
(LEU) fuel
 Fuel density for U-Al fuel increased from
1.3 - 1.7 g/cm3 to 2.3 - 3.2 g/cm3 as enrichment
decreased
 In 1996, with the Summer Olympics scheduled to be
held in Atlanta, Georgia in the USA, security
concerns caused Georgia Tech University to
remove the HEU from its research reactor
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Uses
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Analysis and testing of material
Production of radioisotopes
Fusion research
Environmental science
Advanced material development
Drug design
Nuclear medicine
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Uses
 Neutron scattering experiments to study
structure of materials at atomic level
 Neutron activation for detecting presence
of small amounts of material
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Uses
 Radioisotope production
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
90Y

99Mo
from 89Y for treatment of liver cancer
from fission of 235U foil to produce
99mTc for nuclear medicine
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Uses
 Industrial processing
 Neutron transmutation doping of
silicon crystals
 Study changes resulting from intense
neutron bombardment (e.g.,
embrittlement of steel)
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Spent Fuel
 U-Al fuels can be reprocessed in France
 United States has offered to take back
spent fuel resulting from fuel originally
supplied by the US
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Zero Power Reactor
 zero-power full-scale reactor core mockup assemblies
used to:
 gain understanding of a variety of reactor concepts
 assist in the engineering design of these reactor
systems
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SLOWPOKE
Central control rod
Small sample irradiation tube
Large sample irradiation tube
Beryllium annulus
Lower beryllium reflector
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SLOWPOKE
 prime functions are to perform nondestructive
elemental analysis and produce quantities of selected
radioactive material for use in industry and medicine
 SLOWPOKE laboratories have been utilized in a
number of different fields such as:
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Trace element identification
Radiotracer supply
Forensic science
Environmental analysis
Radioactivity counting
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SLOWPOKE
Reactor Specifications
Type
Pool and Tank
Licensed limit
20 kW
Fuel
Extruded Uranium/aluminium alloy
Moderator
Light water
Cooling
Convection/conduction
Core diameter/height 22cm/22.1cm
Critical mass 235U
816.664g
Fuel life
6.4 x 1019 nvt (at small inner sites)
Irradiation Parameters
Parameter
Inner Sites Outer Sites
Thermal flux
1 x 1012
0.5 x 1012
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TRIGA
 most widely used non-power nuclear reactor in the
world
 In 24 countries, 66 in use or under construction at:
 universities
 government and industrial laboratories
 medical centers
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TRIGA
 used in many diverse applications
 production of radioisotopes for medicine and
industry
 treatment of tumors
 nondestructive testing
 basic research on the properties of matter
 education and training
 operate at thermal power levels from less than 0.1
to 16 megawatts and pulsed to 22,000 megawatts
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High Flux Isotope Reactor
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High Flux Isotope Reactor
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Egypt
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Egypt
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India
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Korea
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Pakistan
PARR-1
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Location of Research Reactors
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Russia
62
United States
54
Japan
18
France
15
Germany
14
China
13
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Where to Get More Information
 Cember, H., Johnson, T. E., Introduction to Health
Physics, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York (2008)
 Martin, A., Harbison, S. A., Beach, K., Cole, P., An
Introduction to Radiation Protection, 6th Edition,
Hodder Arnold, London (2012)
 Glasstone, S., Sesonske, A., Nuclear Reactor
Engineering, 4th Edition, Dordrecht:Kluwer
Academic Publishers (1995)
 Further information can be obtained from :
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info
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