NERHP Research
Facilities & Labs
Research Partnerships
Graduate Student Research
The OSU Radiation Center
Research
Research in the Department of Nuclear Engineering & Radiation Health Physics focuses on five principal areas: Radiation Instrumentation, Radio-chemistry, Computational Methods, Thermal Hydraulics, and Environmental Health Physics.
Radiation Detector Design
The research applies new designs in electronics to long standing issues in radiation detection. A 3rd-generation triple-layer phoswich detector employs digital signal processing. This innovative approach proves the ability of devoted algorithm in simultaneous detection of gamma and beta particles. Applications for beta spectroscopy and dosimetry arise in a variety of situations ranging from medical to national security.
Radiochemistry
Research evaluates the chemistry of actinides and lanthanides with man-made and naturally occurring ligands; redox chemistry of actinides; and kinetics and thermodynamics of radiochemical processes. Faculty develop radioanalytical and separation methods for applications in waste processing, radiochemical sensors, medical imaging and radiotherapy. They study speciation and mobility of radionuclides in natural bio-geochemical systems.
Computational Methods
Research in this area involves advanced methods for neutral and charged particle transport, and the application of simulation tools for the analysis of systems containing radiation or radioactive materials. Ongoing work includes calculating antineutrino sources for non-proliferation detector development, advanced deterministic transport algorithms for radiation detector simulation, deterministic radiation dose calculations for cancer treatment, 3-D simulations of radiation through stochastic mixtures, hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic transport for reactor physics and thermal radiative transfer, and the design of reactor cores for small, innovative commercial power reactors.
Thermal Hydraulics/Reactor Design
OSU’s ongoing research is instrumental in the design and licensing of new reactors. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy chose OSU for thermal hydraulic testing of nuclear power plant designs. Faculty and students designed, constructed, and operate large-scale, state-of-the-art, integral thermal hydraulic test facilities for reactor safety tests. OSU was an integral part of the certification testing program for the Westinghouse AP600 and AP1000 nuclear plant designs, which received NRC design approval.
Environmental Health Physics
Research focuses on the migration of radionuclides through environmental media, statistical approaches to remediating plutonium contaminated waste sites, and the application of scaling functions to predict radionuclide transport through the biosphere.
Facilities & Labs
1.1 MW TRIGA Mark II Pulsing Research Reactor - a water-cooled, swimming pool type of research reactor which uses uranium/zirconium hydride fuel elements in a circular grid array. The reactor is licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate at maximum steady state power of 1.1 MW, and can also be pulsed up to a peak power of about 3000 MW. The reactor has a variety of irradiation facilities available. We are one of only 21 universities to have a reactor.
ATHRL - Advanced Thermal Hydraulic Research Facilities. Incorporates three facilities: Advanced Plant Experiment (APEX), a three story test facility that assess the safety systems of Westinghouse’s next generation of nuclear power plants (AP600, APEX-CE, and AP1000), Air-water Test Loop for Advanced Thermal-hydraulic Studies (ATLAS), and Multi-Application Small Light Water Reactor (MASLWR), a Generation IV design concept. ATHRL offers excellent opportunities for student research and training in instrumentation, quality assurance, safety, operations, and nuclear and mechanical design.
Advanced Nuclear Instrumentation Development Laboratory - A team of about a dozen professors, graduate students, and undergraduates work on varied projects at Oregon State in support of the development of novel radiation detection systems. The Advanced Nuclear Instrumentation Development Laboratory is directed by Professor David Hamby with funding sources including the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Projects include research and development of application-specific multi-layer phoswich detectors, customized digital signal processing electronics, customized graphical-user interface software, neural networks for enhanced beta spectroscopy, simultaneous beta and gamma spectroscopy systems, beta and gamma dosimetry measurement systems, data uncertainty utilization, and hot-particle dosimetry.
Other Labs and Facilities - Radiochemical Analytical Laboratory with radio-HPLC- and radio-LC-IS-MS/MS systems; Cobalt-60 Gamma Irradiator; Neutron Radiography Facilities; Gamma and Alpha Spectrometry Facilities; Radiological Instrument Calibration Facilities; Liquid Scintillation Counting Systems; Thermoluminescent Dosimetry Systems; large inventory of radiation detection instrumentation; student computer laboratory; student nuclear instrumentation laboratory; and wet chemistry laboratories.
Research Partnerships
The $4 million annual departmental research budget is funded by international, federal, state, and private agencies including:
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- Westinghouse Electric Corporation
- Portland General Electric Company
- Oregon Department of Energy
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)
Ongoing collaborative research partnerships include:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
- Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Graduate Student Research
High Performance Research Reactor Hydro-Mechanical Fuel Test Program
The OSU Radiation Center
The OSU Radiation Center houses the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics. Space is also provided for the Advanced Thermal Hydraulics Research Lab, the Oregon Space Grant, and OSU programs in nuclear chemistry, radiation chemistry, and geo- and cosmochemistry. There is no other university facility with the combined capabilities of the OSU Radiation Center in the western half of the United States.
The Radiation Center supports research, development and service programs involving nuclear science and engineering, radiation protection, and related disciplines. It provides a place especially designed for the use and handling of radioisotopes and other sources of ionizing radiation. Research performed by resident researchers at the Radiation Center totals approximately two million dollars annually. About 70% of projects use the reactor. Research projects include applications of:
- Neutron activation analysis including archaeological provenance studies
- Neutron depth profiling for hydrogen storage
Radiotracer techniques
- Medical isotope development and production
- Geological age dating (fission track and Ar/Ar age dating)
- Neutron radiography
- Thermal hydraulics of nuclear steam systems
- Radiation sterilization
- Radiation dosimeter testing
- Radiochemical methodologies
Visit the OSU Radiation Center's website for more information
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