The Ohio State University Nuclear Engineering Professor pitches beamline in Germany
Professor of Nuclear Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU), Director of the Nuclear Engineering Program, and Director of the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL), Dr. Lei Raymond Cao shared news of the laboratory’s fast neutron beamline construction at the first Experts Meeting on Fast Neutron Imaging. The meeting was hosted by the Neutron Imaging Group at the Technical University of Munich (the Technische Universität München, Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRMII)) in October, 2019. The meeting included discussions on the latest advancements and applications of fast neutron imaging and presented a pathway for improving resolution and efficiency of the technique and enlarge the user community.
Cao and a group of nuclear engineering students attended this meeting, where progress in instrumentation, data analyses and software from around the world was discussed. The topics covered include neutron sources for fast neutrons, beam formation, neutron detection, applications, and advanced approaches.
To meet the increasing demands for fast neutron imaging applications, the NRL staff designed a dedicated fast neutron beam line, and a Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research grant from the Department of Energy was used to fabricate the beamline equipment. The new beamline will enable experiments related to fast neutron radiography and computed tomography (CT), and its design will provide the capability for near-core irradiations to examine radiation hardening properties of electronic devices.
“The NRL is recognized in the nuclear field for its unique capabilities and expertise in performing irradiations to investigate important sensor material for reactor applications, which support the development of future reactor designs,” says Cao. “The hard work of the NRL staff and The Ohio State University’s commitment to leading emerging energy research is evident in the facility upgrade and research awards that have been received over such a short period of time”
As the only operating research reactor currently 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 Nuclear Science User Facilities (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.