Specialists at the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics at JINR successfully completed the first operation cycle of the IBR-2 Pulsed Research Reactor after a long shutdown. At the end of December 2024, the Institute obtained a license to put the reactor into operation at its design capacity. The test cycle lasted from 17 February to 7 March.

According to Director of the Laboratory of Neutron Physics Egor Lychagin, the main task of the employees in this cycle was to assess the reactor’s operational condition after a prolonged shutdown.

“The FLNP Nuclear Safety Group closely monitored how the IBR-2 behaves and studied how it works during various transient processes at different power levels. During its shutdown, a lot of experimental equipment was replaced and modernised. During the periods the reactor was at constant power during this cycle, our experimenters had the opportunity to test and adjust their equipment,” Egor Lychagin said.

This spring, there will be two cycles for JINR’s internal experiments: from 17 to 28 March and on 14–25 April. After this, the reactor is set to undergo scheduled preventive maintenance until October, and in the autumn, its operation will resume again as part of a full-scale user programme. Applications for experiments in October–December 2025 can be submitted starting with March.