Research reactors — a look into the future

Abstract

The place of research reactors in validating new energy technologies, which are being developed, and advances in science is analyzed. It is shown that research reactors are a verified effective and irreplaceable tool for advancement in nuclear power, fundamental science, and applied research and technologies for industry, biology, and medicine. Directions of development and improvements in research reactors are proposed.Research reactors have passed through the assimilation stage, characterized by a rapid increase in the number of reactors and the rise and improvement of reactors, at which point a historical maximum of operating reactors, aging, and there quantitative-qualitative optimization in accordance with prospective problems were reached [1] (see Fig. 1). As Table 1 shows, only one third of the reactors built over the entire history of research reactors are operating today.Our country possesses an extensive and harmonized complex of nuclear research facilities, which include research reactors and critical and subcritical stands ( Table 2). The current status of research nuclear facilities, which, as before, have been verified to be effective and often irreplaceable tools for advancement in nuclear power and fundamental and applied science and for assimilating technologies for industry, biology, and medicine, are characterized by the following data:

Evaluation of heat-removal intensification in research reactor cores

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Research reactors are technological proving grounds for solving applied problems and validating new technologies as well as a base for performing fundamental research in various fields [1][2][3][4]. The highest thermal-neutron flux required for such purposes Φ T max ≥ 10 15 sec -1 ·cm -2 in currently operating vessel or pool reactors is reached inside the reflector or in-core traps.

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