Reactor Materials Testing Complex

The Reactor Materials Testing Complex of JSC “SSC RIAR”, one of the largest in the world, is designed to meet reactor materials science objectives associated with the examination of properties and characteristics of materials and items after irradiation in nuclear reactors. Its experimental facilities are tooled for dealing with highly active items. The hot cells have specific research equipment with automatic or remote control.

Layout of hot cells and equipment (Reactor Materials Testing Complex, Building A)

The Reactor Materials Testing Complex has forty-nine hot cells, nine heavy boxes, transportation hall for full-size spent FAs, cooling pool for storage of fuel elements and FAs. Its experimental facilities are tooled for irradiated items and materials with activity up to 1.9 x 1016 Bq. Two hot cells are intended for FAs of power reactors VVER-1000, VVER-440, RBMK and BN. The internal dimensions of these hot cells are 7.5 m in length, 4.0 m in width and 7.2 m in height. The Complex has the Russia’s only refabrication section to prepare fuel rods for specific in-pile and out-of-pile experiments, including their equipping with different gauges. 

Modern equipment and developed techniques make it possible to obtain a wide range of experimental data, which characterize the effect of irradiation on the item parameters and material properties.