Nowadays, the reactor core of Tomsk Polytechnic University is formed from eight six-tube and twelve eight-tube fuel assemblies containing 265 g and 300 g U235, respectively. The total mass of U235 in the reactor is 5.32 kg. If the average annual operating time of the reactor is 3,500 hours, then the annual consumption of U235 is 2.2 kg.
Under thermal power 6MW, the TPU reactor reaches the maximum thermal neutron flux density 1,5·10^14 N/cm^2sec and fast neutrons - 7,1·10^13 N/cm^2sec.
There are ten horizontal experimental channels (HECs), eight of them are radial, with a diameter of 100 mm, one is tangential-through with a diameter 150 mm, and one is tangential with one-sided access with a diameter 150 mm. Two radial HECs are equipped with pneumatic conveying systems and installed measuring automatic analytical complexes. Two radial HECs are equipped with devices, allowing irradiating samples with a neutron beam.
One tangent HEC is equipped with an automatic device, allowing irradiating samples with a diameter of up to 130 mm and a length of 700 mm.
There are 14 vertical experimental channels (VECs), two of them with a diameter 32 mm are installed in a beryllium neutron trap, located in the center of the reactor core (RC).
Other VECs are located outside the core and have a diameter of 55 mm each. An irradiation unit of one of these channels is equipped with the boron-cadmium filter. All channels, except for one installed in a beryllium trap, are curved to exclude the direct influence of the gamma-neutron radiation and do not have protective plugs.
From the side of the fourth HEC and along the face of RC there is a beryllium assembly surrounding the channel and measuring 572 x 648 x 660 mm. In addition, the reactor is able to carry out uniform irradiation of large-sized samples in the fourth HEC of IRT-T.
The following specification allows the Nuclear Research Reactor of Tomsk Polytechnic University to conduct a wide range of fundamental and applied experiments and testing.
