Enhancements to the SLOWPOKE-2 Nuclear Research Reactor at the Royal Military College of Canada

Abstract

In 1985 a Safe Low Power C(K)ritical Experiment (SLOWPOKE) nuclear research reactor was installed at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC). The reactor at nominally 20 kW thermal was named SLOWPOKE-2 and the core was designed to have a total of 198 fuel pins with Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel (19.89% U-235). Installation of the reactor was intended to provide an education tool for members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and an affordable neutron source for the application of neutron activation analysis (NAA) and radioisotope production. Today, the SLOWPOKE-2 at RMCC continues to be a key education tool for undergraduate and post-graduate students and successfully conducts NAA and isotope production as per its original design intent. RMCC has significantly upgraded the facility and instruments to develop capabilities such as delayed neutron and gamma counting (DNGC) and neutron imaging, including 2D thermal neutron radiography and 3D thermal neutron tomography. These unique nuclear capabilities have been applied to relevant issues in the CAF. The analog control system originally installed in 1985 has been removed and replaced in 2001 bythe SLOWPOKE Integrated Reactor Control and Instrumentation System (SIRCIS) which is a digital controller. This control system continues to evolve with SIRCIS V2 currently in operation. The continual enhancement of the facility, instruments and systems at the SLOWPOKE-2 at RMCC will be discussed, including an update on RMCC’s refueling plan.