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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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New coolants, new fuels: A new generation of university reactors
Here’s an easy way to make aging U.S. power reactors look relatively youthful: Compare them (average age: 43) with the nation’s university research reactors. The 25 operating today have been licensed for an average of about 58 years.
Hans Gransell, R. Höglund
Nuclear Technology | Volume 38 | Number 1 | April 1978 | Pages 144-154
Technical Paper | Low-Temperature Nuclear Heat / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT78-A16167
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The SECURE reactor was developed by a Finnish-Swedish project group in 1976–1977. It is a small low-pressure and low-temperature nuclear plant for district heating purposes. The special safety requirements for a reactor of this kind have led to an unconventional design with certain inherent safety features to guarantee safe shutdown without the use of any active components. The reactor is located inside a large, slightly pressurized pool containing cold water with about 1000 ppm natural boron. On shutdown, the pool water flows into the primary system to keep the reactor subcritical. Boron is also used for power control, whereas burnup is compensated for by use of the burnable absorber Gd2O3.