The MIT Nuclear Research Reactor is one of the most popular reactors in the United States. It serves the purpose of research and information for students and scientists. It started functioning in 1958 and its construction begun in July 1956. It took 2 year to be put in function. It took $3 million dollars to be built but now it serves its purpose. Its built out of aluminum alloy and it uses light water for cooling. The MIT Nuclear Reactor needs to be refueled every 3 months. It operates in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is considered top first university in the United States.

The MIT Nuclear Reactor is a type 6 MW reactors; it operates a high research reactors known as the MITR-II. It is one of the most known laboratories in the United States and is considered the second largest university research in the United States.  It focuses on nuclear fission engineering, material science, and radiation affects in biology and medicine, neutron physics, geochemistry, and environmental studies. It supported educational training and also research for scientists. Here, students can be directly involved in the “development and implementation of nuclear engineering experimental programs with neutron flux levels comparable to power reactors”. The staff at the Nuclear Research Reactor laboratory is really open-minded and offers help to university students, high school students and also graduate students involving school projects. It also provides assistance to university research, faculty members and national laboratory users. This laboratory is fully equipped with experimental facilities available to users from inside and outside the MIT University.

The MIT Nuclear Reactor utilizes flat, plate-type, finned, aluminum clad fuel elements and it also uses light water for cooling. It is a heavy water reflected. The average core power density is 70kW per liter. “The maximal fast and thermal neutron flux available to experimenters are 1.2*10 to the power 14 and 6*10 to the 13^th power neutrons/cm2-s. The lab is equipped with a big number of safety features as negative reactivity temperature coefficients of both the fuel and moderator; a negative void coefficient of reactivity; the location of the core within two concentric tanks the use of anti-siphon valves to isolate the core from the effect of breaks in the coolant piping; a core-tank design that promotes natural circulation in the event of a loss-of-flow accident; and the presence of a full containment. The experimental facilities that are available the research reactor contains two medical irradiation rooms, beam ports, automatic transfer facilities. The lab operates 24/7.

Source

http://web.mit.edu/nrl/www/reactor/reactor.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Nuclear_Research_Reactor