Liquid Deuterium Cold Source Concept for the NIST Neutron Source

Published

July 5, 2024

Author(s)

John Jurns, Philipp Arnold, Jeremy Cook, Osman Celikten

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) houses an aging reactor that serves more than 40 % of all cold neutron research needs in the U.S. First critical in 1967, the National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NBSR) is now more than 50 years old. NCNR engineers have initiated a design effort for a replacement reactor, namely the NIST Neutron Source or NNS. The NNS is conceived as a 20-MWth light-water cooled and moderated, and heavy-water reflected compact core design. The NNS will include two liquid deuterium cold sources to moderate neutrons to effective temperatures well below that of thermal neutrons. These cold neutron sources will require new cryogenic infrastructure to operate. This report describes a preliminary proposed design concept for the NNS cold sources and associated ancillary infrastructure.

Proceedings Title

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Volume 1301, Advance is Cryogenic Engineering

Volume

1301

Conference Dates

July 9-13, 2023

Conference Location

Honolulu, HI, US

Conference Title

Cryogenic Engineering Conference (CEC) 2023

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

research reactor, cold neutron source, deuterium, helium refrigerator, cryogenic

Citation

Jurns, J. , Arnold, P. , Cook, J. and Celikten, O. (2024), Liquid Deuterium Cold Source Concept for the NIST Neutron Source, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Volume 1301, Advance is Cryogenic Engineering, Honolulu, HI, US, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=936818 (Accessed October 14, 2025)