Renewing the Nation’s Flagship Test Reactor

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory is undergoing an overhaul during an extended outage expected to run from April through December 2021. The overhaul is called a Core Internals Changeout, and it occurs about every 10 years on average. Experts will replace the reactor’s key core components - similar to rebuilding the engine of a high-performance car. ATR is the world’s most powerful and adaptable test reactor. As a centerpiece of the U.S. nuclear energy research infrastructure, ATR supports a wide range of vital missions for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. ATR also supports university research and nuclear industries in the U.S. and around the world. Plus, it creates valuable isotopes for medical treatments and for NASA space exploration.
inl.gov/atr/

[@iansevents8104]

An excellent overview of ATR's core overhaul process!

[@robertspence7766]

Nice little video of our core internals change out.

[@MisterDogg]

Do you know what software they used to create the visualization/simulation?

[@IdahoNationalLab]

@@MisterDogg We worked with an animator who uses Blender 3D, which is free and open source software that anyone can use. You can see more of his creations here: animagraffs.com/

[@wedgeantilles7731]

True unsung heroes, all of you! ❤❤❤

[@williamj3359]

Got to be a part of the 169-1 outage & wish our company could have been involved in CIC. Great people to work with at ATR & INL as a whole.

[@ancientbutstillhere6570]

The center for advanced materials helped too. I was impressed when there. Niobium coated U 235 fuel a marvel of engineering. Like NiCrFe alloy 600 Inconel, it changed the reactors designs forever. People cannot believe a fuel 1/10" thick with zirc ii matrix with 600°F delta T that runs twenty years.

[@edgarvidal4626]

Excellent representation of the process and how beryllium is critical for the existence of ATR.

[@DRCharltonJr]

I was an operator at ATR from 1981 until 1984 then transferred into the training organization where I was until 2000. I was fortunate to be a part of some major modifications for both the reactor and irradiation facilities control systems. I also helped support one of the core internal change outs. Looking at this video and other materials the Test Reactor Area has changed noticeably. ATR's two predecessors (e.g. the Materials Test Reactor (MTR) and Engineering Test Reactor (ETR)) are long gone. A shame that a part of history regarding nuclear fuels and materials research are no more. **sighs** My 30+ year career in the nuclear industry (mostly at the INL) still haunt my dreams... ~"The past is gone and static. Nothing we do can change it. The future is before us and dynamic. Everything we do will affect it." - Charles F. Kettering~

[@idahoag]

Hi Darrell.

[@DirtyLifeLove]

31 ton lid!!! Damn

[@quiver8502]

WOW the magic tranfer

[@RobertHargraves]

So why do we need a new one? The House just zero'd the budget.

[@--gmoney5572]

Salt reactor is safer!!! By far !!!