The central feature of the off campus one-storey structure is a large accelerator that generates a beam of high-energy protons. Encased in a reinforced concrete chamber, it can test the stresses, temperature and other conditions found in metallic components of an operational reactor core.
“This is a highly insulated facility with two-metre-thick concrete walls separating the accelerator chamber from other labs, offices and amenity spaces,” said John Featherstone, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects. The 600-square-metre building also includes a fully glazed corridor to bring natural light into these work areas.
Metals behave quite differently in a nuclear power reactor environment than in more conventional applications. The RMTL will use accelerator technology to allow researchers to investigate how materials respond to stress and temperature inside a nuclear reactor, leading to the safer and more efficient design and maintenance of nuclear reactors.
“The uniqueness of this facility is a testament to the innovative approaches being used by the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science to enable world-leading research and to educate our students,” said Dr. Mark Daymond, the director of the laboratory.