High Flux Beam Reactor

Abstract

Abstract Brookhaven National Laboratory's High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) was built because the scientist always wants ‘more.’ In the mid-50's the Brookhaven Graphite reactor was churning away, producing anumber of new results, when the current generation of scientists, led by Donald Hughes, realized the need for a high flux reactor and started down the political, scientific and engineering path that led to the HFBR. The effort was joined by a number of engineers and scientists such as Chemick, Hastings, Kouts, and Hendrie that came up with the novel design of the HFBR. The two innovative features that have been incorporated in nearly all other research reactors built since are: (i) an undermoderated core arrangement which enables the thermal flux to peak outside the core region where beam tubes can be placed, and (ii) beam tubes that are tangential to the core which decrease the fast neutron background without affecting the thermal beam intensity. Construction began in the fall of 1961 and four years later, at a cost of $12 Million, criticality was achieved on Halloween Night, October 31, 1965. Thus began 25 years of scientific accomplishments.