Utilisation of the OPAL Research Reactor

Abstract

The OPAL Research Reactor incorporates a number of irradiation facilities designed to accommodate various physical target sizes, flux levels and irradiation times. Since the commissioning of the OPAL Research Reactor in 2006, the utilisation of these irradiation facilities has steadily increased based on the requests from stakeholders and specific user groups. This increase in utilisation has required greater awareness of forecast demand and improved integration between the reactors digital operating systems and the enterprise wide management systems. This paper provides an overview of the OPAL irradiation facilities and how they fit in with the overall ANSTO processes together with a discussion about how forecast demand and improved integration have been implemented.