UMLRR | |
---|---|
| |
Operating Institution | University of Massachusetts Lowell |
Location | Lowell, Massachusetts |
Coordinates | 42°39′17″N71°19′30″W / 42.65472°N 71.32500°W |
Type | Pool |
Power | 860420650 cal(th)/h |
Construction and Upkeep | |
Construction Cost | $1.2 million USD |
Construction Began | 1974 |
First Criticality | 1975 January 2 |
Annual Upkeep Cost | $0.3 million USD |
Staff | 2 |
Operators | 6 |
Technical Specifications | |
Max Thermal Flux | 1.4e13 n/cm^2-s |
Max Fast Flux | 9.2e12 n/cm^2-s |
Fuel Type | plate type 18 per assembly |
Cooling | light water |
Neutron Moderator | light water |
Neutron Reflector | graphite, light water |
Control Rods | Boron-Aluminium-Carbide (Boral) 4 per element |
Cladding Material | aluminium alloy |
The Radiation Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Lowell serves the Department of Applied Physics among others. The laboratory contains the University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Reactor (UMLRR), a 1 MW pool-type research reactor [1] that has been operating since 1974, along with a 300 kCi Co-60 gamma ray source and a 5.5 MeV Van de Graaff accelerator.
The first startup was on January 2, 1975. [2] A budget for the reactor is not provided by the university or the state; funding comes from customer irradiations, grants, and the United States Department of Energy. [3] [4]
The UMass Lowell reactor has been one of the many research reactors to make the conversion from high-enriched uranium (HEU) to low-enriched uranium (LEU) as a part of anti-terrorism security measures. [5] The used HEU fuel was reportedly shipped to the Savannah River Site. The original shipping date was June 2002 but had been postponed many times. As of present-day the shipments have been made and the reactor is in operation with LEU.
Neutron irradiation facilities at the UMLRR include: 1x 8-inch beam port, 2x 6-inch beam ports, in-core radiation baskets & flux trap, thermal column, and fast neutron irradiator (FNI). [6]
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