Irradiation Facilities at the Advanced Test Reactor
The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is the third generation and largest test reactor built in the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC – formerly known as the Test Reactor Area), located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), to study the effects of intense neutron and gamma radiation on reactor materials and fuels. The RTC was established in the early 1950s with the development of the Materials Testing Reactor (MTR), which operated until 1970. The second major reactor was the Engineering Test Reactor (ETR), which operated from 1957 to 1981, and finally the ATR, which began operation in 1967 and will continue operation well into the future. These reactors have produced a significant portion of the world’s data on materials response to reactor environments. The wide range of experiment facilities in the ATR and the unique ability to vary the neutron flux in different areas of the core allow numerous experiment conditions to co-exist during the same reactor operating cycle. Simple experiments may involve a non-instrumented capsule containing test specimens with no real-time monitoring or control capabilities1. More sophisticated testing facilities include inert gas temperature control systems and pressurized water loops that have continuous chemistry, pressure, temperature, and flow control as well as numerous test specimen monitoring capabilities. There are also apparatus that allow for the simulation of reactor transients on test specimens.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 911130
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-05-00907; TRN: US0704409
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ENC 2005 - The Ninth European Nuclear Conference,Versailles, France,12/11/2005,12/14/2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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