The Neutron Radiography Reactor (NRAD) is a 250 kW TRIGA reactor in the basement of HFEF. It is equipped with two beam tubes and two separate radiography stations that make it one of the finest facilities in the world for neutron radiography irradiation of small test components, a process not possible using conventional X-ray methods.
Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) was one of the first liquid metal-cooled fast breeder reactors to prove it could serve as an electric power generating plant operating on recycled fuel. Breeder reactors produce more fuel than they consume. EBR-II began generating power in August 1964 and was decommissioned in 1994.
HFEF still performs examinations on the fuels and materials irradiated in EBR-II, providing data to determine their quality of performance. The facility also performs transuranic (TRU) waste characterizations supporting the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.
The facility has two large, highly-shielded hot cells. The main cell, which is stainless steel-lined and gas tight, has 15 workstations, each with a 4-ft thick window of oil-filled, cerium-stabilized glass and a pair of remote manipulators. The decontamination cell has six similarly equipped workstations. Each cell is equipped with overhead cranes and overhead electromechanical manipulators. Cell exhaust passes through at least two stages of HEPA filtration.
Radioactive materials are introduced into the hot cells via a shielded cask on a transfer cart which accesses the cells through an under-cell transfer tunnel. A penetration through the top of the main cell also allows the introduction of large components or fuel assemblies.
The 9x7 SWT is a closed-return, variable-density tunnel with an asymmetric, sliding-block nozzle. It is one of three separate test sections powered by a common drive system. Interchangeability of models among the UPWT test sections allows testing across a wide range of conditions. Airflow is generated by an 11-stage, axial-flow compressor powered by four variable-speed, wound-rotor induction motors.