b'P ROVING THE P RINCIPLEReactorLast Day of Name Acronym S t a r t u p Operation35. Organic Moderated Reactor Experiment OMRE 9-17-57 April 1963OMRE demonstrated the technical and economic feasibility of using a liquid hydrocarbon as both coolant and moderator, a reactor concept developed and partially financed by Atomics International. Located a few miles east of the Central Facilities Area, the reactor operated with a succession of cores. The waxy coolant was considered promising because it liquified at high temperatures but didnt corrode metal like water did. Also, it operated at low pressures, significantly reducing the risk of leaking. A scaled-up reactor, the Experimental Organic Cooled Reactor, was built next door in anticipation of further development of the concept.36. Power Burst Facility PBF 9-22-72 1985Located southeast of the Test Reactor Area, the PBF was part of the reactor safety testing program. It was designed to simulate various kinds of imagined accidents caused by sudden increases in the operating level of a reactor. The PBF was the only reactor in the world that could perform rapid power changes (bursts) within milliseconds. It performed severe-fuel-rod-burst tests and also simulated loss-of-coolant accidents within a special assembly that fit inside the main reactor core.The initial mission for PBF was to test light water reactor fuel rods under representative accident conditions. Data from these tests were used to develop and validate fuel behavior computer codes for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.After its test program ended in 1985, the PBF reactor was considered for use in defense-related programs or for use in a brain cancer treatment program called Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). The BNCTprogram would have treated patients with glioblastoma multiformea form of brain cancer. However,neither of these missions materialized.37. Reactivity Measurement Facility RMF 2-11-54 4-10-62R M F, a detector reactor that measured reactivity changes in materials irradiated in the MTR or ETR, was operatedfor more than eight years. The RMF was used to assay new and spent fuel elements and to assist in experiment scheduling by evaluating reactivity losses and flux depression caused by in-pile apparatus.38. Shield Test Pool Facility SUSIE 1961The SUSIE reactor was used for bulk shielding experiments that were performed in support of the ANPShielding Experimentation Program. The reactor, situated in a water-filled pool at TAN, could be operated safely, was adaptable to many forms of nuclear research, and was easy to operate at minimum cost. After the ANPprogram was discontinued in 1961, SUSIE continued in use by other programs at the NRTS.39. Special Power Excursion Reactor Test No. I SPERT-I 6-11-55 1964SPERT-I was the first in a series of four safety-testing reactors designed to study the behavior of reactors when their power level changed rapidly. Power runaways were produced deliberately by moving the control rods. The variables in the thousands of SPERT studies included fuel plate design, core configuration, coolant flow, temperature, pressure, reflectors, moderators, and void and temperature coefficients.All operations were conducted from a control building located a half mile from the reactors, situated a few miles east of the Central Facilities Area. SPERT-I was an open-tank, light-water-moderated and reflected reactor,originally using 92 percent enriched uranium fuel. The reactor tank, about 4 feet in diameter and 14 feet high, was filled with water to a level about 2 feet above the core.In general, SPERT-I tests demonstrated the damage-resistant capabilities of low-enrichment (4 percent enricheduranium-235) uranium-oxide fuel pins similar to those used in water-cooled reactors powering large central stations.40. Special Power Excursion Reactor Test No. II SPERT-II 3-11-60 October 1964 This facility consisted of a closed pressurized water reactor with coolant flow systems designed for operation with either light or heavy water. The pressure vessel was 24 1/2 feet high by 10 feet inside diameter. Tests with heavy water (deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen) were desired because heavy water reactors were of growing 26 6'