Construction Licence Issued For Russia’s MBIR Research Reactor

15 May (NucNet): A construction licence has been issued for the proposed multi-purpose fast neutron research reactor (MBIR) project in Russia, with commissioning scheduled for 2020, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said. The MBIR will be built at the site of the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR) at Dmitrovgrad in the Ulyanovsk region of western Russia. The 150-megawatt reactor will primarily use sodium as a coolant and vibropacked mixed-oxide (VMOX) fuel. VMOX is a Russian variant of MOX fuel in which the blended uranium-plutonium oxide powders and fresh uranium-oxide powder are loaded directly into the cladding tube of the fuel assembly instead of first being manufactured into pellets. The MBIR will be used for the development of materials for Generation IV fast neutron reactors. Scientists will use it to carry out experiments into the operating parameters of core components under normal and emergency conditions when using sodium, lead, lead-bismuth, gaseous and molten salt coolants. For the reactor’s technical details: http://bit.ly/1d2alGN.