Australia’s Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) reactor is a state-of-the-art 20-megawatt multi-purpose reactor that uses low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel to achieve a range of activities to benefit human health, enable research to support a more sustainable environment and provide innovative solutions for industry.

ANSTO is pleased to report that the OPAL multi-purpose reactor is back to full operations, following the planned long shutdown. This first-of-a-kind project was the most significant maintenance and upgrade program in OPAL’s 17-year history.

The Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor (OPAL) is a 20 megawatt (MW) swimming pool nuclear research reactor. Officially opened in April 2007, it replaced the High Flux Australian Reactor as Australia's only nuclear reactor, and is located at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Research Establishment in Lucas ...

The Open Pool Australian Light Water (OPAL) Reactor is a 20 MW, open pool type research reactor. It is composed of a compact core surrounded by a heavy water reflector. The reactor includes several irradiation facilities, beam tubes and a cold neutron source (CNS).

2024年9月30日 · ANSTO’s OPAL multi-purpose research reactor at Lucas Heights has officially returned to power and recommenced operations, following a months-long planned shutdown to carry out essential maintenance and upgrades. Central to these upgrades was the elaborate replacement of OPAL’s cold neutron source, located next to the reactor core.

OPAL is a 20MW (thermal) multipurpose research reactor designed for making medical radioisotopes but which does not produce electricity. The OPAL reactor uses ordinary ‘light water’ to do a number of things: to cool the reactor, to moderate neutrons (i.e. enhance fission reactions and maximise the use of uranium fuel) and to shield ...

A state-of-the-art research reactor, OPAL uses heavy water to moderate the neutrons produced in its fuel assemblies and light water for cooling. A ‘cold’ neutron source will produce neutrons with lower energy levels and longer wavelengths, significantly enhancing the versatility of the reactor’s neutron beam scattering facilities.

2024年4月17日 · The Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has closed its Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) reactor at the Lucas Heights nuclear medicine precinct to undergo necessary upgrades and maintenance.

The most important piece of nuclear infrastructure in Australia is the OPAL research reactor, which is multi-purpose by design with its main applications being neutron beams for research and irradiation of many different materials, some of which allow manufacture of radioisotopes for health and medicine.

2024年10月3日 · The Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation’s (ANSTO’s) multi-purpose research reactor has officially returned to power and restarted operations, following a planned shutdown to carry out essential maintenance and upgrades.