Educational nuclear reactor AKR-2
The educational nuclear reactor is an integral part of the Chair of Hydrogen and Nuclear Energy at the TU Dresden and contributes substantially to maintaining a high level of expertise in Germany—both in cooperation with other colleges and universities as well as with industrial partners.
As zero power reactors, educational nuclear reactors like the AKR-2 are singularly suitable for demonstrating complex interdependencies in reactor physics and for making these phenomena tangible in scientific experiments.
To the educational nuclear reactor AKR-2
Description
The educational nuclear reactor is a homogeneous solid material moderated zero power reactor. The reactor first became critical as AKR-1 on July 28, 1978. The cylindrical reactor core is 250 mm in diameter, with a critical height of 275 mm and is made of plate-shaped fuel elements. The fuel plates are composed of an homogenous mixture of uranoxide (enrichment < 20% U-235) and polyethylene as a moderator material. The core holds a total of 794g U-235.
The reactor’s maximum continuous output is 2 watts. The facility is controlled by three cadmium combined control and safety rods. To start the reactor safely, the start up neutron source (Am-Be; emissions rate 2,2·106 s-1) is located inside. The core is surrounded on all sides by an ultra-pure graphite reflector. The cylindrical reactor vessel that serves as the outer encasement is made of high-density concrete ca. 75 cm thick and provides a substantial radiation shield.
The AKR has a central canal passing through the core, as well as five other canals to be used for experiments. At an output of 2 watts, the flux density of thermal neutrons in the middle of the central experimental canal is 2.5·107 cm-2 s-1. Two canals with a clear diameter of 75 mm lie tangentially to the core in the reflector.
The reactor is designed so that a prompt critical state cannot be induced by an operating error, and impermissable capacity increases are impossible. As a result, risks to operators and to the reactor’s surroundings are precluded. To ensure safety, among other measures, excess reactivity is limited to a maximum of 0.3%, and leakage of fission products is prevented by a multi-barrier system.
The reactor facility is primarily for educational and teaching purposes, but is also used as a research tool in national and international projects.
Research projects using the AKR:
- Entwicklung eines Kritikalitätstesters für die Kernmaterialkontrolle von Nullleistungsreaktoren und kritischen Anordnungen
Partner: IAEA Wien, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Euratom Luxemburg - Consultant Support for Mini MCA Implementation FZ Rossendorf
Partner: IAEA Wien, Euratom, Forschungszentrum Jülich - Inspector Training in Use of Criticality Tester
Partner: IAEA Wien, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Euratom Luxemburg, GNS - Core Inventory Verifier for Research Reactors
Partner: IAEA Wien, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Euratom Luxemburg - Externe Validation des Programmsystems ATHLET-CD
Partner: IKE Universität Stuttgart, GRS Köln, GRS Garching, - OPSA (Oxidation Phenomena in Severe Accidents)
Partner: Commissariat à l`Energie Atomique Cadarache, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Joint Research Centre Ispra, Università degli Studi di Pisa, AEKI KFKI Budapest - Radiation Spectrometry in Mixed Neutron-Photon Fields
Partner: NPL Teddington, PTB Braunschweig, NRPB Chilton, IPSN Fontenay-aux-Roses, BfS Berlin, Università degli Studi di Pisa - Erweiterung und Verifikation von TRAMO zur Lösung von Neutronen/Gammatransportproblemen und Überprüfung von Kerndatenbibliotheken
(Untersuchungen zur Versprödung von Reaktordruckgefäßen durch Gammastrahlung)
Partner: FZ Rossendorf, HS Zittau/Görlitz, IKTP TU Dresden - Entwicklung und Einsatz innovativer Methoden bei der Ausbildung von Studenten und der Qualifizierung von Mitarbeitern zum Kompetenzerhalt in der Kerntechnik
Partner: AREVA NP GmbH, NL-G - Validierung von Aktivitätsberechnungen von Absorberstäben aus Siedewasserreaktoren mittels Monte-Carlo-Methoden
Partner: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Università di Bologna
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