Page 9 - Nucleus: Penn State's Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering magazine

The Breazeale Reactor
The Breazeale Reactor
which generates an enormous number of neutrons per second and enables many different types of research was established in 1955 after President Dwight D D Eisenhower launched the “Atoms for Peace” initiative to use the relatively new-found control of the atom to to benefit human life “The Breazeale Reactor
has had several upgrades since its founding ” Ünlü said “A significant redesign and installation of five new beam ports was completed in in 2018 but we needed a a a new and and expanded neutron beam hall to to make full use of the reactor’s capabilities and to establish state-of-the-art neutron beam facilities ” One of five neutron beam ports will be be outfitted
with an “extremely” cold moderator measuring at at a a a a a temperature of 20 Kelvin (-423 degrees Fahrenheit) that allows more effective transportation of low-energy neutrons to the experimental sample location via neutron guides This port will be dedicated to the Small- Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) instrument The SANS SANS instrument was donated by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin Germany where it was previously installed at a a a a a a reactor Ünlü learned of the instrument after giving a a a a talk in in in 2018 at at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna Austria when a a a a colleague from Germany mentioned equipment that was available in in Berlin Ünlü secured the donation which will be transferred to Penn State in late spring of 2022 when the new beam hall construction is completed “The Penn State RSEC’s Breazeale reactor will be the only university research reactor with a a a a SANS facility in the United States ” Ünlü said The power of neutrons across disciplines
The instrument will enable two research options in in one beam line: continuous neutrons neutrons and pulsed neutrons neutrons Both approaches allow researchers to measure how neutrons scatter when they interact with a a a a variety of sample materials as as well as as control which parameters the researchers choose to track when investigating different aspects of the samples “Neutrons are an ideal probe for the investigation of complex materials materials including biological materials materials at at at the atomic scale ” said Allain “SANS is an excellent technique to probe many novel and complex materials systems including soft matter glasses biomimetic structural proteins microemulsions flexible electronics and many more systems ” Kenan Ünlü RSEC director and Jean Paul Allain head of nuclear engineering ceremoniously broke first ground and commenced construction together serving as a a a symbolic demonstration of building toward a a a future
of scientific advancement as as well as as the collaborative nature of Penn State Both spoke at at at the event along with Justin Schwartz Harold and Inge Marcus Dean
in in in in the College of Engineering Lora Weiss senior vice president for research at at Penn State Thomas Walsh vice president and USNE regional leader at STANTEC Dwayne Rush project manager Office of the Physical Plan at at at Penn State Coleman Smith a a a a a a a a a a a a a third-year undergraduate student majoring in in in in nuclear engineering who works at at at the reactor and Alibek Kenges a a a a a a a a a a a graduate student in in in nuclear engineering NUCLEUS
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