526:. It was a valuable auxiliary tool in operation for three years before the ATR started up. It verified for reactor designers the effectiveness of control mechanisms and physicists predictions of power distribution in the large core of the ATR . Low-power testing in the ATRC conserved valuable time so that the large ATR could irradiate experiments at high power levels. The ATRC is also used to verify the safety of a proposed experiment before it is placed in the ATR. The ATRC started operating on May 19, 1964 and remains in service.
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352:, and instruments that operate in the reactors." Under this program, experimenters will not have to pay to perform experiments at the reactor, but are required to publish their findings. Through the NSUF system, ATR and partner facilities have hosted 213 awarded experiments from 42 different institutions (universities, national labs and industry), resulting in 178 publications and presentations.
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made of stainless steel surrounded by concrete that extends more than 20 feet (6.1 m) underground, is hardened against accidental or intentional damage. The entire reactor area is also surrounded by a confinement structure (as opposed to a "containment structure") designed to further protect the surrounding environment from any potential release of radioactivity.
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261:(number of neutrons impacting one square centimeter every second) conditions in various locations. Six of the test locations allow an experiment to be isolated from the primary cooling system, providing its own environment for temperature, pressure, flow and chemistry, replicating the physical environment while accelerating the nuclear conditions.
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By contrast, the ATR requires a smaller containment structure—it has a volume of 1.4 cubic metres (49 cu ft), contains 43 kilograms (95 lb) of uranium, and operates at 60 °C (140 °F) and 26.5 atm (conditions similar to a water heater). The reactor vessel itself, which is
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Since 1951, fifty-two reactors have been built on the grounds of what was originally the Atomic Energy
Commission's National Reactor Testing Station, currently the location of the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Constructed in 1967, the ATR is the second-oldest of three
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to concentrate neutrons on experiments, and houses multiple experiment positions as well. It operates at low temperature and pressure 71 °C (160 °F) and up to 2.69 MPa water pressure. The ATR reactor vessel is solid stainless steel, 35 feet (11 m) tall by 12 feet (3.7 m) across.
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Pressurized Water Loop
Experiment: More complex than the Instrumented Lead configuration, this type of experiment is available in only six of the nine flux tubes, referred to as Inpile Tubes (IPTs). Test material is isolated from the primary ATR coolant by a secondary coolant system, allowing for
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Instrumented Lead
Experiment: Similar to the Static Capsule configuration, this type of experiment allows for real-time monitoring of temperature and gas conditions inside the capsule. An umbilical connects the test capsule to a control station to report test conditions. The control station
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per second per square centimeter or 5·10 fast neutrons s cm. There are 77 different testing locations inside the reflector and another 34 low-intensity locations outside the core, allowing many experiments to run simultaneously in different test environments. Test volumes up to 5.0 inches
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precise conditions of a commercial or naval reactor to be simulated. Extensive instrumentation and control systems in this type of experiment generate a large amount of data, which is available to the experimenter in real-time so that changes can be made to the experiment as required.
432:, in which case, the test capsule is not sealed. Very limited monitoring and temperature control are available for the static capsule configuration, and any instances would have to be built into the capsule experiment (such as temperature melt wires or an insulating air gap).
253:. This reactor was designed and is used to test nuclear fuels and materials to be used in power plants, naval propulsion, research and advanced reactors. It can operate at a maximum thermal power of 250 MW and has a "Four Leaf Clover" core design (similar to the
428:, which is then inserted in the desired reactor location. If the tube is less than the full 48-inch reactor height, several capsules may be stacked. In some cases, it is desirable to test materials (such as fuel elements) in direct contact with the
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needs. It can be brought online and powered down safely as often as necessary to change experiments or perform maintenance. The reactor is also powered down automatically in the event of abnormal experimental conditions or power failure.
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for medical uses. Disks of cobalt-59 1 mm -diameter by 1 mm thick are inserted into the reactor (Static
Capsule Experiment), which bombards the sample with neutrons, producing cobalt-60. Approximately 200
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413:(130 mm) in diameter and 4 feet (1.2 m) long can be accommodated. Experiments are changed on average every seven weeks, and the reactor is in nominal operation (110 MW) 75% of the year.
348:, and industry. This status is intended to stimulate experiments to extend the life of existing commercial reactors and encourage nuclear power development. These experiments will test "materials,
478:/ Light Water Reactor: The goal of the AFCI is to transmute longer-life fuels into shorter-life ones which would be able to be used in commercial light water reactors, to reduce the amount of
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In April 2007, the ATR was designated a
National Scientific User Facility, since renamed a Nuclear Science User Facility (NSUF), to encourage use of the reactor by
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provided by the reactor can be either constant or variable, and each lobe of the four-leaf-clover design can be controlled independently to produce up to 10
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In addition to its role in nuclear fuels and materials irradiation, the ATR is the United States' only domestic source of high specific activity (HSA)
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Test reactors are very different in appearance and design from commercial, nuclear power reactors. Commercial reactors are large, operate at high
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Advanced
Graphite Capsule: This experiment will test the effects of radiation on several types of graphite under consideration for the
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at 288 °C (550 °F) and 177 atm. Because of their large size and stored energy, commercial reactors require a robust "
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The ATR is a pressurized light water reactor (LWR), using water as both coolant and moderator. The core is surrounded by a
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reactors still in operation at the site. Its primary function is to intensely bombard samples of materials and fuels with
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Production: The least complex of current uses of the
Advanced Test Reactor is the production of the Co
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automatically regulates the temperature inside the test capsule as desired by pumping a combination of
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due to exposure to radiation and to ensure experimenters always have a new reactor to work with. The
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Stacy, Susan M. “Proving the
Principle – Appendix B: Fifty Years of Reactors at the INEEL”. 2000.
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Static
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The core is approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) tall by 4 feet (1.2 m) across.
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672:"Advanced Test Reactor Testing Experience: Past, Present and Future"
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program that currently have no high-flux temperature data available.
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Three types of experiments can be performed in the reactor:
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The ATR core is designed to be as flexible as possible for
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United States
Department of Energy national laboratories
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https://factsheets.inl.gov/FactSheets/PtP-appendices.pdf
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762:"Reactor Utilization for the Advanced Test Reactor"
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725:"ATR Irradiation Facilities and Capabilities"
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826:ATR Irradiation Facilities and Capabilities
820:ATR Capabilities and Future Operating Plans
767:. Idaho National Laboratory. Archived from
730:. Idaho National Laboratory. Archived from
698:. Idaho National Laboratory. Archived from
649:. Idaho National Laboratory. Archived from
621:. Idaho National Laboratory. Archived from
564:. Idaho National Laboratory. Archived from
893:Buildings and structures completed in 1967
590:"Idaho test reactor opens to universities"
544:"An Introduction to Cherenkov Radiation"
380:in the event of an emergency situation.
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356:ATR compared with commercial reactors
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696:"ATR National Science User Facility"
542:Hadiseh Alaeian (March 15, 2014).
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913:Nuclear research reactors
450:gas-liquid chromatography
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154:Technical Specifications
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592:. USA Today. 2007-12-08
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141:Construction and Upkeep
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235:Advanced Test Reactor
68:Operating Institution
33:Advanced Test Reactor
22:Advanced Test Reactor
903:Light water reactors
378:radioactive material
562:"INL's 52 Reactors"
548:Stanford University
305:Cherenkov radiation
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872:Nuclear technology
797:2020-09-27 at the
760:Robert C. Howard.
723:Frances Marshall.
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324:for use in
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251:Arco, Idaho
198:Light water
187:Light water
136:250 MW
120: /
108:112°57′55″W
96:Coordinates
86:Arco, Idaho
882:Categories
778:2008-04-03
741:2008-02-29
706:2008-02-29
681:2008-03-28
657:2008-02-29
632:2008-02-28
596:2008-02-29
572:2008-02-28
530:References
495:kilocuries
105:43°35′09″N
486:Cobalt-60
454:oxidation
422:aluminium
318:radiation
277:cobalt-60
266:beryllium
209:Beryllium
176:5·10 s cm
170:Max Fast
795:Archived
426:zircaloy
394:research
366:pressure
330:industry
326:medicine
322:isotopes
314:neutrons
226:concrete
218:Material
216:Cladding
78:Location
834:Portals
402:fatigue
370:uranium
295:History
245:at the
241:) is a
182:Cooling
165:10 s cm
84:, near
860:Energy
438:helium
772:(PDF)
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480:waste
446:argon
133:Power
520:ARMF
516:ATRC
510:The
442:neon
364:and
328:and
233:The
224:and
172:Flux
159:Max
149:1967
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499:TBq
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239:ATR
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