The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab Awarded Over $750K in Department of Energy Funding

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U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program, announced the finalists for its FY2019 Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research (CINR) funding on June 27th 2019. The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL) was named twice, with awards totaling over $500K, among three final university recipients. In addition, the center was also chosen to receive over $200K to make upgrades at the facility. These awards come on the heels of awards totaling $385,000 during 2018 from the NSUF program for NRL.

10 inch tube secured next to core
10 inch tube secured next to core

NSUF CINR awards allow researchers to conduct their research at the NSUF partner facility of their choice. The NRL stands out among the research reactors in the country. “Our unique capability for near-core sensors and sensor materials irradiation under high temperature was validated by the researchers who chose to bring their research here.” said Raymond Cao, Director of the NRL. “The NRL is an important facility in nuclear research and we are continuing to expand our reach and impact in the field.”

As two of only three awarded projects in the Joint Research and Development with NSUF Access category these projects will investigate important sensor material for reactor applications:

“Irradiation of Optical Components of In-Situ Laser Spectroscopic Sensors for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Systems” Investigator: Dr. Igor Jovanovic (University of Michigan), Co-investigators: Dr. Piyush Sabharwall (Idaho National Laboratory) and Dr. Paul Marotta, (Micro Nuclear LLC)
“High Fluence Active Irradiation and Combined Effects Testing of Sapphire Optical Fiber Distributed Temperature Sensors” Investigator: Joshua Daw (Idaho National Lab), Co-investigators: Dr. Thomas Blue (The Ohio State University) and Dr. Christian Petrie (BS ME '10, MS NE '11, PhD NE '14) (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

The behavior of fuels and materials in a nuclear reactor irradiation environment is extremely complex and provides a rich field for scientific investigation. NSUF experiments at the NRL to date have largely focused on the study of in-core neutron sensors and sensor materials, which supports the development of future reactor designs.

The Nuclear Reactor Laboratory’s third award is through the Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research. The DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy provides funding to support crosscutting nuclear energy research and development and associated infrastructure support activities, to develop innovative technologies that offer the promise of dramatically improved performance for advanced reactors and fuel cycle concepts, while maximizing the use of DOE resources. $230,000 was announced for:

A Request for Replacement of the Control-Rod Drive System for The Ohio State University Research Reactor, RU: Reactor Upgrades

As the only operating research reactor in the State of Ohio, the NRL is a unique teaching and research laboratory that delivers high quality service to its customers and excellent instruction and research opportunities to nuclear engineering students. In 2017, the DOE designated the NRL as a partner facility of the NSUF program, allowing awarded researchers, often in collaboration with other laboratories and industry, to perform DOE mission-supporting research at the NRL at no cost to users. Experimenters interested in utilizing NRL facilities should e-mail reactor@osu.edu.