Publication Laka-library:
Oyster Annual report 2012
| Author | TU Delft, IRI Delft |
| Date | February 2013 |
| Classification | 1.01.8.70/15 (IRI DELFT) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Introduction
In 1963, a nuclear reactor fully dedicated to academic research and education
became operational at the campus of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft),
called the "Hoger Onderwijs Reactor" or HOR. An open pool-type reactor using
low-enriched Uranium-235 as fuel, the HOR has been generating neutron radiation
for research in the area of nuclear energy, materials science and for the production
of radioisotopes for medical purposes ever since.
Since the sixties, (nuclear) science has progressed immensely, and so should the
HOR. OYSTER ("Optimized Yield -for Science, Technology and Education- of
Radiation'') has been conceived as a major package for the HOR and its
experimental facilities to make sure the reactor is optimally geared towards
contributing to state-of-art research and education in as many scientific disciplines
as possible.
On January 20, 2012, the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) was awarded
38 million euro by the Dutch government for the OYSTER project after a period of
productive discussions and (external) reviews. OYSTER will expand the capabilities
of the research reactor, including neutron-, and positron instruments and irradiation
facilities, for the sake of the broader Dutch and international research communities.
It will thus provide new scientific and innovative output and collaborations that in
turn will secure the long-term future of the reactor.
Since the first concepts of the OYSTER program were proposed in 2005, many
technological and scientific innovations have been achieved in the field of neutron
and positron sources and their corresponding scientific instrumentation. The
European Spallation Source (ESS) and PALLAS reactor in Petten are examples of
such progress since 2005. The scientific and technological innovations have been
closely followed by TU Delft, and when the OYSTER program was awarded in
January 2012, an augmented and updated program was quickly sent for assessment
to an international panel of scientists.
In parallel, the main OYSTER project kicked off in February 2012, spanning a
10-year period and comprising the following items:
• OYSTER - Instruments and Facilities: design, development, construction and
installation of facilities and instruments. The suite of instruments and facilities
will be incrementally realized over the time span 2012-2018;
• OYSTER - Reshaping the Reactor: reshaping of the reactor core, increasing the
power, and implementing a cold neutron source. The new core and the cold
source will be operational in 2016;
• OYSTER - Exploiting the New Possibilities: Scientific programs and output,
PhDs, collaboration with industry and academia.
About this report
The OYSTER organization will report on its progress on a yearly basis. This first
annual report on OYSTER addresses all relevant developments that took place in
the time span 2005-2012, i.e. including the period before the program was formally
granted.
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