| Constructing a Nuclear Reactor - Part 1 |
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| Overview - Reactor News | ||||||||||||||||
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Constructing a Nuclear Reactor In the mid-1950s, Dr. Harry Thode successfully lobbied the National Research Council of Canada and local industry for funding to build a research reactor at McMaster University. The funds were secured by June of 1956, and in November of that year the contract to build the reactor was awarded to AMF Atomics Ltd (Canada). The design selected was that of a pool type reactor for operational flexibility, with a full containment structure around it for maximum safety.
The construction of an “MTR Class Reactor” (MTR = Materials Test Reactor) in 1950’s West Hamilton was a unique occurrence, and the progress of the project was documented in a series of photographs. The slide show below begins with the ground breaking in September 1957, through the completion of the containment structure in September 1958, up to the official opening ceremony for the McMaster Nuclear Reactor that was held on April 10, 1959, less than a week after MNR first achieved criticality. MNR: Scale Model The building process started with the creation of a scale model showing the Nuclear Research Building and the soon-to-be-built John Hodgins Engineering Building (JHE) and reactor containment building. Design contracts for the containment building and the nuclear reactor were awarded to William R. Souter & Associates and AMF Atomics (Canada) Ltd., respectively.
Scale Model: NRB Expansion An expansion of the NRB was also in the works both to increase research space and to provide access to the reactor containment building via an above-ground “bridge”. The original NRB structure from 1950 is outlined in blue, with the 1957-1958 additions outlined in red.
Breaking Ground The Pigott Construction Company Limited began construction of the reactor containment building began in the Fall of 1957. This September 26 photograph shows the preparation of the ground where the reactor would eventually stand.
Extending the Nuclear Research Building At the same time, construction began on the extensions to the Nuclear Research Building. Two additional major renovations of the NRB would eventually follow, in 2001 and 2011.
Preparing for the Foundation Pad By October 10, 1957, the characteristic pentadecahedral (15-sided) shape of the containment building was readily discernable.
Pouring the Foundation Two weeks later, the reinforced concrete foundation pad (33 m diameter x 1.5 m thick) was in place. At the center of the pad, the depression resembling a figure 8 is the bottom of what would become the reactor pool.
The Walls Take Shape By November 5th, the frameworks of the walls of the containment building were in evidence. Toward the centre of the structure, work also continued in the area that was to become the bottom of the reactor pool.
Scaffolding Around the NRB Progress also continued apace on the additions to the Nuclear Research Building, as shown in this photograph taken on December 4th, 1957.
Access Ways Appear Work continued through the winter months, with the outer forms of the airlock doors and the airlock chamber appearing by February 19th, 1958.
Fitting the Beam Tubes With its end use as an experimental facility in mind, the designs for MNR included six beam ports that could be used for research purposes. The beam tubes were fitted into place, fanning out from where the core of the reactor would eventually be placed, so that each tube could eventually provide a beam of neutrons to one of the six research stations (beam ports ) within the containment building. Today, the beam ports are used for applications such as neutron diffraction and neutron radiography.
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