The Health Physics Research Reactor

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Abstract
The Health Physics Research Reactor became operational at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on May 31, 1963. A small, unshielded and uncooled fast reactor, the HPRR was designed as a versatile tool for research in health physics and related fields. The core is a right, circular cylinder (8 in. in diameter and 9 in. high) of enriched uranium (93.14% U235) alloyed with 10% by weight of molybdenum. Steady-state power levels range from 0.1 W or less to 10 kW, and the pulse mode yields pulses in the range of 1016-1017 fissions per pulse. For a pulse of 1017 fissions, the pulse width at half-maximum pulse height is about 60 [mu]sec. The fast neutron to gamma ray dose ratio at distances up to several m is approximately 10. Dose rates for a fixed geometry may be varied by 12 orders of magnitude; the fast neutron dose rate at 1 m from the center of the core is approximately 3.3 tissue rad per hr/W. The facility has, in a number of cases, been made available for worthwhile research projects originating in other laboratories.

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