UF Training Reactor

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UF Training Reactor
Established: 1959
Dean: Director Dr. Alireza Haghighat
Location: Florida, USA
Website: UF Reactor website

The University of Florida Training Reactor (UFTR) is an experimental nuclear reactor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is a research reactor licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the only research reactor in Florida. It is used by UF's departments of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering (NRE), Physics, Chemistry, Geology, and Environmental Engineering Sciences. The reactor is pool-type. It has a power capacity of 100 kW and uses low-enriched uranium (LEU) as fuel.

The reactor was built and began operation in 1959. [1] The core contains about 20 pounds of low-enriched uranium. The power level is regulated by cadmium blades that act as a mechanical shim (analogous to control rods at a pressurized water reactor). The UFTR provides neutrons for the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (NAAL), where samples undergo neutron activation. A flux of about 1012 thermal \frac{n}{cm^2 * s} reaches the NAAL. This performs commercial neutron activation services for $40 to $60 per sample, and is competitive compared to a number of alternative chemical processes. The UFTR underwent a conversion to low-enriched uranium as apart of anti-terrorism initiatives in 2006.

Teachers, students, or other groups are welcome to visit the reactor with a prior appointment.

[edit] External links


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