Research reactor 2

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Research reactor 2
Building of the former research reactor 2

Building of the former research reactor 2

location
Research reactor 2 (Baden-Württemberg)
Research reactor 2
Coordinates 49 ° 5 '29 "  N , 8 ° 25' 46"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 5 '29 "  N , 8 ° 25' 46"  E
country Germany
Data
operator Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe
start of building February 1, 1957
Installation March 7, 1961
Shutdown December 21, 1981
Shutdown November 20, 1996
Reactor type tank
Thermal performance up to 1966 : 12 MW
from 1966 : 44 MW
Neutron flux density up to 1966 : 9 × 10 12 n / (cm 2 s)
from 1966 : 7 × 10 14  n / (cm 2 s)
was standing February 2, 2009

The research reactor 2 ( FR 2 ) was a research reactor , which from 1961 to 1981 at the Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe (now Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ) was operated. It was the first reactor in the Federal Republic of Germany that was built according to its own concept and under its own responsibility. With an output of 44  MW , it is still the most powerful research reactor that has ever been built in Germany.

history

After the Second World War , the Federal Republic of Germany only received sovereignty through the German Treaty in 1955 and thus the opportunity to conduct its own reactor research. Immediately after the conclusion of the contract, the planning for the FR 2 research reactor began under the direction of Karl Wirtz and with the collaboration of Rudolf Schulten . Construction of the research reactor began on February 1, 1957, and the reactor finally reached its first criticality on March 7, 1961 . After some delay, the power operation could be started on December 12, 1962 and the reactor was then available to science as a research instrument.

Research reactor 2 was the first of a total of six nuclear facilities at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center. The Rapid Thermal Argonaut Reactor followed two years later , five years later the multi-purpose research reactor , the Rapid Zero Energy Arrangement and a Siemens teaching reactor , and ten years later the KNK nuclear power plant .

After more than 20 years of operation without any major disruptions, the research reactor was shut down on December 21, 1981. The permit for decommissioning was granted on July 3, 1986, the safe containment of the reactor was completed ten years later on November 20, 1996. Among other things, the fuel elements were removed. The costs for decommissioning the reactor amounted to 130 million German marks. The dismantling is currently planned.

After completion of the project, a permanent exhibition on the topic of "Research and development work in the nuclear research center / Research Center Karlsruhe for the safe and environmentally friendly use of nuclear energy" was set up in the reactor hall.

Reactor data

The research reactor FR 2 was initially a natural uranium reactor and designed for an output of 12  MW and a maximum thermal neutron flux of 9 × 10 12 n / cm 2 s. In mid-1966, a change in the fuel assemblies and other design measures increased the output to 44 MW and the neutron flux to 7 × 10 14 n / cm 2 s. The tank-type reactor subsequently used 2 percent enriched UO 2 as fuel. He was moderated and cooled with heavy water .

research

The nuclear reactor served as a source of neutrons for scientific purposes only. The focus of use was on basic research in neutron physics as well as beam tube experiments for nuclear solid-state physics and structure analysis in atomic physics . Furthermore, the reactor was used for the first time to produce radioisotopes for diagnosis and therapy in nuclear medicine .

See also

swell

  1. ^ 50 Years of the Karlsruhe Research Center , press release of the Karlsruhe Research Center on July 5, 2006
  2. ↑ List of nuclear facilities in the Federal Republic of Germany ( Memento from January 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Federal Office for Radiation Protection, November 2013
  3. ↑ https://um.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/umwelt-natur/kernenergie-und-radioaktivitaet/kerntechnische-anlagen/sonstige-kerntechnische-anlagen/ re- processing facility-karlsruhe-wak/forschungsreaktor-2-fr-2 /
  4. ↑ K. Wirtz, In the vicinity of physics , Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe 1988, p. 98
  5. ↑ W. Koelzer: Lexicon for nuclear energy . Karlsruhe: Research Center, Karlsruhe 2001, ISBN 3-923704-32-1 , p. 55 , keyword FR2 ( kernenergie.de [PDF; 6.3 MB ; accessed on July 13, 2016]).