Research reactor
Research reactors are nuclear reactors that are not used to generate electricity , but for research purposes (physical, nuclear and material studies) and the production of radionuclides for medicine and technology. So it is not the thermal energy, but the neutron radiation from the reactor that is used. Research reactors are also used for training purposes.
Compared to reactors for energy generation ( power reactors ), the performance of a research reactor is generally orders of magnitude lower, and accordingly its need for nuclear fuel and the amount of radioactive waste generated .
Are to be distinguished from the research reactors
- Experimental reactors, which are used to develop reactor concepts and technologies,
- and prototype - nuclear power plants with which the practical and economic usefulness of a particular nuclear power plant technology is to be demonstrated.
However, the functions cannot always be completely separated from one another, and the names are not used entirely uniformly.
Types
There are different types of research reactors. In almost all of them, the reactor core is surrounded by water, which serves as a moderator for the neutrons and for cooling.
Material test reactors
Material test reactors (MTR) are intended for the investigation of nuclear fuels and radiation damage in structural materials caused by fast neutrons. They have a very compact reactor core in order to achieve the greatest possible neutron flux density.
Isotope production reactors
Isotope production reactors are used for the production of radioactive nuclides .
Radiant tube reactors
In beam tube reactors, the slow neutrons generated in the reactor are normally passed through beam tubes into an experimental hall to B. to examine material samples by neutron scattering. One of the most powerful plants of this type is the 58 MW high-flux reactor RHF of the international Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble .
Teaching reactors
Teaching reactors are used for training purposes and are mostly located at universities . They have very little power. Nine teaching reactors are still in operation in Germany, seven of which are of the SUR type ( Siemens teaching reactor ) with an output of 0.1 watts.
TRIGA reactors
The TRIGA reactor (TRIGA = "Training, Research, Isotope Production, General Atomics") is a special type of research reactor developed by the US company General Atomics . It is a swimming pool reactor that is characterized by inherent safety. Inherently means that safety is guaranteed by natural laws, not by technical measures that could be bridged. It is used for education, research and radionuclide production. More than 50 TRIGA reactors are in operation worldwide.
Research reactors in Germany
In operation
According to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), the following research reactors with a continuous thermal output of over 50 kW are in operation in Germany:
- Berlin Experimental Reactor II, Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy (until 2008 Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin ; output: 10 MW, commissioning 1973)
- Research reactor Munich II ( Technical University of Munich , Garching ; output: 20 MW, commissioning 2004)
- Research reactor Mainz (TRIGA reactor of the University of Mainz , Institute for Nuclear Chemistry ; output in continuous operation: 0.10 MW, short-term peak output for 0.03 s: 250 MW; commissioning 1965)
Decommissioned or dismantled
The following research reactors with a thermal continuous output of over 50 kW have been shut down and z. T. dismantled:
- Research reactor 2 ( Karlsruhe Research Center ; output: 44 MW, operation 1961–1981)
- Research reactor Hannover ( Hannover Medical School ; output: 0.25 MW, operation 1973–1997)
- MERLIN research reactor ( Research Center Jülich ; output: 10 MW, operation 1962–1985)
- Research reactor DIDO (Research Center Jülich; output: 23 MW, operation 1962–2006)
- Research reactor Geesthacht -1 ( GKSS research center Geesthacht ; output: 5 MW, operation 1958–2010)
- Research reactor Geesthacht -2 (GKSS research center, Geesthacht; output: 15 MW, operation 1963–1993)
- Research Reactor Munich (Technical University of Munich, Garching; power: 4 MW, operating 1957 to 2000), through research reactor Munich II replaced
- Research and measurement reactor Braunschweig ( Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt , Braunschweig ; output: 1 MW, operation 1967–1995)
- Research reactor Neuherberg ( Society for Radiation Research , Oberschleißheim (Neuherberg); output: 1 MW, operation 1972–1982)
- Research reactor TRIGA Heidelberg I ( German Cancer Research Center , Heidelberg ; output: 0.25 MW, operation 1966–1977)
- Research reactor TRIGA Heidelberg II (German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg; output: 0.25 MW, operation 1978–1999)
- Rossendorfer research reactor ( Central Institute for Nuclear Research (ZfK); output: 10 MW, operation 1957–1991)
No operating permit
The following research reactor did not receive an operating license:
- Research reactor Frankfurt -2 ( University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main ; output 1 MW, built 1973–1977)
In addition, a number of test reactors were constructed in the German uranium project during the Second World War , but none of them became critical . The last of these attempts was the Haigerloch research reactor , a heavy water reactor that was built by researchers from the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in March / April 1945 in a rock cellar in Haigerloch in Hohenzollern .
See also
- Phébus research reactor in France, for research into core meltdowns
- BORAX experiments with research reactors in the USA
- List of nuclear reactors in Germany
- List of research reactors in Austria
- List of nuclear reactors in Switzerland
- List of nuclear facilities (the list of nuclear power plants does not include research reactors)
