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INL
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INL and Economic Development:
Reactor Research and Development
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| Since the first
Experimental Breeder Reactor powered up in 1951, the INL has been
home to more than 50 different nuclear reactors. Here are some of
the highlights in INL's half-century of reactor research. |
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| EBR-I:
first electricity from fission |
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Electricity
generated by Experimental Breeder Reactor I on December 20, 1951
powered four light bulbs. It was the first use of electrical power
generated by nuclear fission. In the early years of nuclear reactor
development, there was a focus on building "breeder" reactors.
These reactors "breed" more reactor fuel while they operate
to make electricity. The Experimental Breeder Reactor II started
up in 1961, and for many years supported research into not only
breeder technology, but also new methods of fuel reprocessing and
passive safety systems. The reactor operated until 1994. |
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| Materials
testing reactors |
The
second nuclear reactor to power up at INL, the Materials Test Reactor
(MTR) was used to conduct research on the materials used in commercial
power reactors. Back when the nuclear industry was just getting
started, not a lot was known about how high levels of radiation
would affect the metals and components that would be used in reactors.
The MTR was an essential test bed for conducting fundamental research
in this area.
The Engineering
Test Reactor, which started in 1957, provided an upgrade to the
MTR facilities, with more space for experiments and more power.
In 1972, the ETR housed the Sodium Loop Safety Facility, which was
used to conduct breeder reactor research.
In 1967,
the Advanced Test Reactor provided the ability to condense material
testing into short periods of time. Designed to create much greater
concentrations of neutrons (the neutral particle contained within
the heart of atoms), the ATR has been used to conduct research into
how materials stand up to the radiation inside of nuclear reactors.
It has also advanced the Navy's program for use of nuclear power
in submarines and aircraft carriers. |
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| BORAX:
more power than 20 mule teams |
| Five Boiling Water Reactor
Experiments (BORAX I through V) were conducted from 1953 through 1964.
These experiments provided knowledge about how reactors would behave
if the cooling water were allowed to boil into steam inside of the
reactor vessel. The Borax III reactor was the first to light a town—Arco—in
1955. |
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| An
ill-fated reactor |
| The Stationary
Low Power Reactor (SL-1) was built by the U.S. Army to explore the
possibility of using nuclear reactors for generating power in the
field—especially in remote sites like the Arctic Circle and
Antarctica. It was destroyed by a steam explosion on January 3, 1961,
killing all three operators on hand. The accident happened when one
of the three workers manually pulled a fuel rod out of the reactor
during routine maintenance. It was the first time an accident in a
nuclear reactor had resulted in fatalities, and the only time such
an event has occurred at a DOE facility. Since the SL-1 accident,
U.S. reactors have been designed so that movement of a single control
rod is not sufficient to create a nuclear chain reaction. |
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| Loss
of Fluid Test Facility |
| In
the 70s, the Loss of Fluid Test Facility was a hotbed of INL testing,
bringing together the resources of several different nations to
construct an experimental facility where engineers and scientists
could explore what happens when a reactor suddenly loses cooling
water. |
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Still
operating