Experimental Breeder Reactor I

The EBR-I today - in the parking lot, two prototypes of a nuclear aircraft propulsion

The Experimental Breeder Reactor I ( EBR-I ) in the Idaho National Laboratory was a research reactor, which produced the world's first nuclear reactor on December 20, 1951 electricity, and the first working breeder reactor. In this reactor, several other technologies were first implemented. He was until 1963 in operation, is now designated as a National Historic Landmark and open to visitors.

The plant in the south of the U.S. state of Idaho is located between Idaho Falls and Arco. The structure was designed in 1946 under the direction of Walter Zinn and with the participation of Enrico Fermi at Argonne National Laboratory, released in 1947 by the Atomic Energy Commission and built on a new test site in the semi-desert of Idaho since 1949. Their purpose was to demonstrate the power generation and other nuclear research. The reactor core was replaced, the two coolant circuits, the primary circuit and the secondary circuit were operated with the liquid sodium - potassium alloy NaK. The secondary circuit transferred his energy in a heat exchanger to a water - steam cycle that powered a conventional combination of turbine and generator.

In August 1951 a first attempt failed because the amount of fuel and density was not sufficient to establish a critical mass. In December of the same year was issued after conversion of the core for the first time a low electric power. The first day was enough power for the needs of four light bulbs, from the next day and to the decommissioning of the plant produced enough power for their own needs and various research tasks. 1953 was detected in the EBR-I for the first time the hitherto only theoretically predicted breeding process.

In its lifetime, the reactor with four different reactor cores was operated. The first consisted of only 52 kg of highly enriched uranium in a very dense for that time construction. The nuclear fuel of the next two was enriched uranium in combination with 2 % zirconium. During the operation of the second core came in 1955 to a partial meltdown, but its effects were even confined to the core. The last reactor core from November 1962 consisted of plutonium, which the EBR-I produced the world's first reactor electric power from the fission of plutonium. This last, called the Mark IV reactor core generated with a breeding rate of 1.27 for the first time more fuel than he split.

The reactor was shut down early 1964 and subsequently replaced by the adjacent Experimental Breeding Reactor II. In 1966, the plant has been reported in the presence of President Lyndon B. Johnson as a National Historic Landmark since 1976 - after all radioactive internals have been removed - it is in the summer months a museum open to the public. In the parking lot in front of the building there are two built by General Electric prototype for a nuclear aircraft propulsion.