RA-10: a new Argentinian multipurpose research nuclear reactor (2011) [pdf] | Hacker News Reader

RA-10: a new Argentinian multipurpose research nuclear reactor (2011) [pdf]

www-pub.iaea.org

49 pointswslh12 comments

My grandpa worked on the development of Argentina's first nuclear reactors. They ended up building the first nuclear power plant in Latin America. He had relocated his family (including my dad) to Germany for some years during its development in the 60s, which apparently was the place to be.

Not sure how relevant or interesting this is, but here we are.

i'm very interested in this! can we chat somewhere?

Sure, email? My dad would know much more about it than I do.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atucha_Nuclear_Power_Plant

Looks like a typical modern research reactor, with Al cladded LEU silicide fuel.

BTW, considering plate fuel have been successfully used in research and naval reactors, why no interest in them for power reactors?

"is planned to be operative in 2018"

Is it?

Based on this article in spanish[1] (translated in [2]) it says that will be the most modern multipurpose nuclear reactor and it is planned to be completed in the year 2022. They predict it will produce 20% of Molybdenum consumed in the world.

[1] https://www.lanacion.com.ar/ciencia/tecnologia-se-construye-...

[2] https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=es&tl=en&u=htt...

How much more economically efficient will it be than 1980s French nuclear reactors?

That's the question that matters.

It isn't. It is still under construction. In [0], a discussion about research reactors in Argentina. In [1] a video about what has been done in the RA-10, and near the end the CAREM, another reactor that's meant for electricity generation,

[0] https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=2037851&page...

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEcKlBt6N6o

The linked document is a paper from 2011.

There was a press release in 2018 about RA-10 nearing completion: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsargentinas-ra-10-resear...

However, I couldn't find it on the IAEA website: https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/CountryDetails....

In general IAEA has pretty strict rules around reporting (NGSS system as an example [1]) so it is unlikely to be online without it being reported to IAEA.

[1]: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/surveying-safeguarded-m...

Everything nuclear always is delayed by around five to ten years (minimum).

As a nuclear proponent...

Considering the current state of the Argentinian economy, is it wise to invest billions into extremely advanced research projects? They should focus on low immediate cost alternatives and invest that money into industry or agriculture...

R&D is the way of escaping vicious economic cycles that selling mainly commodities and investing in industries that, generally, does not deliver and exist because of state controls. The Argentinian problems are corruption and extreme inefficiency that always ends up in economical problem.

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