OREANDA-NEWS. July 08, 2011. The meeting of the State Acceptance Committee devoted to inspection of the IBR-2 reactor readiness for start-up after modernization (IBR-2M) was held in the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna City).

The Chief Engineer of the reactor and modernization project was NIKIET Scientific, Research and Engineering Institute (a branch of Atomenergoprom OJSC), and the General Engineer was GSPI specialized engineering institute (a branch of Atomenergomash Group).

The committee heard eight reports on readiness of the IBR-2M reactor, its systems and various services of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research for performing of the power start-up program. The committee members inspected the reactor and visited the reactor and experimental hall. They paid a special attention to the safety issues.

After a comprehensive discussion of the materials under consideration the committee signed a certificate of the modernized IBR-2M reactor readiness for the power start-up.

The IBR-2M research reactor is a unique pulse fast neutron reactor with periodic modulation of the reactivity. It has unique features: at average heat power equal to 2 megawatt the pulse reactor generates power of 1,500 megawatt and pulse flow of neurons up to 1,017 cm-2 c-1 which may be directed into 14 horizontal beams in order to carry out scientific experiments.

Chairman of the State Acceptance Committee, Director of the Department of Priority Science Branches and Technologies of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia Valery Kachak, representatives of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research headed by Academician of RAS Viktor Matveyev, delegation of NIKIET OJSC headed by Director, Chief Engineer, Corresponding Member of RAS Yury Dragunov and other experts took part in the meeting. Director Ilya Virgizayev and Chief Engineer Alexander Kurnayev participated in the meeting as delegates from GSPI OJSC.

“Having taken the decision on reactor readiness for start-up, we felt that we all took part in generation of the nuclear science future. How we may say with certainty that the program of the OBR-2 reactor modernization which took more than ten years has been fulfilled successfully. It will allow prolongation of the service life of this unique research reactor for some decades as well as holding of hundreds of new scientific experiments, bringing up of the next generation of young and talented nuclear physicists,” Ilya Vergizayev noted.

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, NIKIET OJSC, GSPI OJSC, VNIINM named after A.A. Bochvara, Mayak Production Association and other enterprises and companies of the nuclear industry took part in the program of the IBR-2 reactor modernization. Modernization will ensure further operation of the IBR-2M reactor up to 2035. Annually, up to 100 experimental and research works performed by scientists from more than 30 countries of the world will be held in the reactor.