Dhruva:Maindesignfeatures,operationalexperienceandutilizationOriginalResearchArticle

Dhruvaisaproductoftechnologicalinitiativestakenduringmidseventieswhenaneedwasfeltforanotherresearchreactorhavingahighneutronfluxtomeetthegrowingdemandsofresearchanddevelopmentinthefrontierareasofscienceandengineering.Inadditionproductionofradioisotopesofhighspecificactivityandthediverserequirementsofabroadbasedusercommunityhadtobesynthesizedintoaviablesystem,whichcouldbeengineeredwithinthelimitedmeansavailableinthecountry.Thishighneutronfluxreactorwasdesigned,constructedandcommissionedentirelybyIndianscientistsandengineersanditreflectsthecountryʹsresolvetoachieveself-relianceinthenuclearreactortechnology. Dhruvaisa100MW(thermal)researchreactorwithmetallicnaturaluraniumasfuel,heavywaterasmoderator,coolantandreflector,givingamaximumthermalneutronfluxof1.8×1014n/cm2/s. Sinceitsfirstcriticalityon8thAugust1985,anumberofexperimentalfacilitieshavebeenaddedwhichhaveproventobehighlyattractiveforuniversitiesandindustrialresearchersfortheirscientificmeritsinvariousfields.Oneofthemajorutilizationareashasbeentheneutronbeamresearchusingseveralneutronspectrometers,allofwhichwerebuiltin-house.Aguidetubefacilitycomprisingoftwoneutronguidesandanotherexperimentalset-upwithamulti-instrumentbeamlinehaveenabledfurtherenhancementoftheutilizationofthisNationalFacilitybytheacademicinstitutionsinthecountry.Productionofradioisotopesofhighspecificactivityandinincreasedquantityhasfulfilledgrowingdemandsformanyapplications.Thewrite-upprovidesanoverviewofthereactorcoveringitsdesign;layout,safetyfeatures,utilizationandoperatingexperiencealongwithdescriptionofsomeofthespecificexperimentalfacilities.