FBTR

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The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) first reached criticality in October 1985. The Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) jointly designed, constructed, and operate the reactor. The FBTR is a liquid metal fast breeder reactor based on the French "Rapsodie" design. The reactor uses a plutonium-uranium mixed carbide (MOX) fuel and liquid sodium as a coolant. The fuel is an indigenous mix of 70 percent plutonium carbide and 30 percent uranium carbide. Plutonium for the fuel is extracted from irradiated fuel in the Madras power reactors and reprocessed in Tarapur. The reactor was designed to produce 40MW of thermal power and 13.2MW of electrical power. The FBTR has rarely operated at its designed capacity and had to be shutdown between 1987 and 1989 due to technical problems. From 1989 to 1992 the reactor operated at a mere 1MWt. In 1993, the reactor's power level was raised to 10.5 MWt. The initial nuclear fuel core used in the FBTR consisted of approximately 50kg of weapons-grade plutonium. In September of 2002, fuel burn up in the FBTR for the first time reached the 100,000 megawatt-days per metric ton uranium (MWd/MTU) mark. This is considered an important milestone in breeder reactor technology. Using the experience gained from the operation of the FBTR, the center is designing and preparing a site for construction of a 500MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

[edit] Indian nuclear facilities

• Trombay: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India’s premier nuclear research laboratory.
• Tarapur: The Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) houses India’s oldest commercial nuclear reactors, which were provided by the United States in the 1960s.
• Rawatbhata: The area near Rawatbhata, 64 kilometers southwest of Kota in Rajasthan state, is home to the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) and the Kota heavy water production plant.
• Kalpakkam: The area around Kalpakkam, which is located 80km south of Chennai [Madras], is home to two major nuclear facilities. The first, called the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), is owned and operated by India’s NPC. The MAPS-1 and -2 PHWRs originally had maximum design outputs of 235MWe, but they have been down-rated to 170MWe.
• Kakrapar: The Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS), owned and operated by the NPC under the supervision of J.B. Kalaiya, is located in Gujarat state. The KAPS-1 and -2 PHWRs have maximum design outputs of 235MWe, maximum net outputs of 220MWe, and are not subject to IAEA safeguards.
• Indore: The Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) was established by the DAE to continue work done by scientists from BARC on lasers and accelerators as part of its inertial confinement fusion and uranium enrichment programs.
• Narora: The Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS) in Uttar Pradesh state is owned and operated by the NPC. The NAPs-1 and -2 PHWRs have maximum design capacities of 235MWe and maximum net outputs of 220MWe.
• Kaiga: India is currently engaged in the Kaiga Atomic Power Project (KAPP) in Karnataka state, which consists of building two PHWRs (Kaiga-1 and -2).
• Ahmedabad: Located just outside the city of Ahmedabad, the Institute for Plasma Research houses the Aditya Tokamak fusion reactor and is headed by P.K. Kaw. The center is supported by the DAE and conducts experimental and theoretical research of plasma physics with an emphasis on magnetic confinement fusion and designs for tokamak reactors.
• Koodankulam: In the wake of the 1994 Kaiga dome collapse and problems with its indigenously built reactors, India has looked to foreign suppliers of nuclear power reactors. In doing so, New Delhi has focused on completing a deal that was signed with the Soviet Union in the late 1980s for the supply of two 1,000MW power plants. Although the original deal was suspended, it has been successfully revived and is proceeding forward.
• Pokharan: Located at the Khetolai military range in the Thar desert, Pokharan is the site where India has conducted all of its nuclear tests. The most recent, held in May 1998 and code-named Operation Shakti-1, were part of what the Indian government said was a series of five tests held as a joint project between the DAE and the DRDO. According to the Indian government, the five tests involved: a 12 kiloton (kT) fission device, a 43kT thermonuclear [fusion] device, a sub-kiloton [0.2-0.6kT] device on 11 May 1998, and two sub-kiloton devices with yields of 0.2-0.6kT on 13 May 1998.