Jules Horowitz Reactor

The Jules Horowitz Reactor is a European boiling water research reactor. The 100-megawatt materials testing reactor is under construction at Cadarache in southern France,[1] based on the recommendations of the European Roadmap for Research Infrastructures Report, which was published by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) in 2006.[2] The reactor, which is named for the 20th-century French nuclear scientist Jules Horowitz,[3] is expected to begin operation in 2016.[4]

Project background and funding

The Jules Horowitz Reactor's construction was recommended by ESFRI as a replacement for the European Union's existing materials testing reactors, which were all built in the 1960s, and are expected to reach the end of their service lives by 2020.[5] The reactor is being built under the framework of an international consortium of research institutes, including France's CEA, the Czech Republic's NRI, Spain's CIEMAT, Finland's VTT, Belgium's SCK•CEN, the United Kingdom's NNL and the European Commission, along with private companies such as Electricité de France (EDF), Vattenfall and Areva. There are two non-European associate partners to the consortium; India's DAE and Japan's JAEA. The construction of the reactor was funded by (which provided 50% of the project's funding), EDF (20%), various EU research institutes (20%) and Areva (10%).[6]

Design

The Jules Horowitz Reactor is a materials testing reactor, with a power output of approximately 100 megawatts. It has a planned service lifespan of around 50 years, and is designed to be adaptable for a variety of research uses by nuclear utilities, nuclear steam system suppliers, nuclear fuel fabricators, research organisations and safety authorities.[6] The reactor's versatile modular design allows it to accommodate up to 20 simultaneous experiments. Its instrumentation allows previously unavailable real-time analysis to be performed. Its primary uses will be research into the performance of nuclear fuel at existing reactors, testing of materials used in reactors, testing designs for fuel for future reactors and the production of radioisotopes for use in medicine.[6] The reactor is intended to produce radioisotopes in coordination with existing production facilities at Petten in the Netherlands.[5] The reactor's coolant flow is ascending, in the order of nearly 2.36 m3/s, with maximum pressure in the order of 1.0-1.5 MPa, depending on the required flow and the core head loss.[7]

Construction

Site preparation for the project began at the Cadarache nuclear research complex in March 2007.[4][5] The first concrete for the reactor's foundations was poured in August 2009, and the central containment structure was completed with the addition of a 105-tonne dome in December 2013.[4] The Jules Horowitz Reactor is expected to achieve its first criticality in 2016.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "The JHR Jules Horowitz Reactor". CAD.CEA.fr. 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "ESFRI Roadmap Report". EIBIR. 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Under construction: Reactor Jules Horowitz". ITER. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Materials test reactor gets its dome". World Nuclear News. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "European materials test reactor progresses". World Nuclear News. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Construction starts on Jules Horowitz". World Nuclear News. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  7. ↑ "JHR General Layout" (PDF). NIST.gov. 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2015.

External links