TY - JOUR
T1 - Perspectives on Tailoring Neutron Energy Spectra in Material Test Reactors
AU - Woolstenhulme, Nicolas
AU - Bascom, Andrew
AU - Worrall, Michael
AU - Chandler, David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2025.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Material test reactors (MTRs) are used to irradiate nuclear fuels and materials to develop data for how they endure neutron bombardment in or near reactor cores. Most historic MTRs, and all that remain operational in the US today, are water-cooled types and produce a thermalized neutron flux. New irradiation facilities are needed which can produce neutron energy spectra relevant to fast and fusion reactor environments. Construction of these facilities will take several years of steadfast funding to complete, which poses a formidable schedule challenge for current fast and fusion reactor developers. Irradiation designs which modify the neutron energy spectra delivered to test specimens in thermal spectrum MTRs, an approach referred to as “spectral tailoring”, can be used to approximate several relevant phenomena in the materials needed to enable fast and fusion reactor technologies. This approach is imperfect, but still valuable in the present situation. The two highest flux MTRs operational in the United States, the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), have rich histories, ongoing developments, and new potentials for spectral tailoring that will be reviewed and discussed in this paper.
AB - Material test reactors (MTRs) are used to irradiate nuclear fuels and materials to develop data for how they endure neutron bombardment in or near reactor cores. Most historic MTRs, and all that remain operational in the US today, are water-cooled types and produce a thermalized neutron flux. New irradiation facilities are needed which can produce neutron energy spectra relevant to fast and fusion reactor environments. Construction of these facilities will take several years of steadfast funding to complete, which poses a formidable schedule challenge for current fast and fusion reactor developers. Irradiation designs which modify the neutron energy spectra delivered to test specimens in thermal spectrum MTRs, an approach referred to as “spectral tailoring”, can be used to approximate several relevant phenomena in the materials needed to enable fast and fusion reactor technologies. This approach is imperfect, but still valuable in the present situation. The two highest flux MTRs operational in the United States, the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), have rich histories, ongoing developments, and new potentials for spectral tailoring that will be reviewed and discussed in this paper.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85214442177&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11837-024-07069-1
DO - 10.1007/s11837-024-07069-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85214442177
SN - 1047-4838
JO - JOM
JF - JOM
M1 - 110752
ER -