The much-awaited Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)'s Experimental Test Reactor, which will help assess different types of proliferation resistant reactors, has been commissioned. The low power critical facility at BARC, Trombay attained first criticality last evening, a BARC release said today.

The facility is a versatile research platform designed to facilitate the study of different core designs based on various fuel types, moderator materials and reactivity control devices used in all types of reactors.

The core configuration of the thorium-uranium based 300 MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), being developed at BARC, will be progressively simulated in this facility equipped with advanced nuclear instrumentation, BARC said.

Optimisation of physics design of AHWR and generation of additional nuclear data relevant to the design of thorium based advanced reactor will be the main research programme for this facility.

It also offers flexibility to suit the core configuration of future Pressurised Heavy Water and Light Water Reactors.

BARC's AHWR, a technology demonstrator, will derive two-third of its energy from thorium-based fuel.

BARC is currently building a 20 MeV proton accelerator. It will be linked to the critical facility to study physics aspects of the proliferation resistant future accelerator driven sub-critical reactor systems (ADSS).

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