The primary mission of the Accelerator Laboratory is to study ion beam-solid interactions. Primary work in the Accelerator Laboratory includes measuring ion-stopping powers; measuring transmitted energy and angular distributions of ions channeled through thin films; studying lattice damage and self-annealing phenomena; studying low-energy ion implantations and film deposition; studying semiconductor alloys produced by ion beam synthesis; and investigating masked ion beam lithography. Measurements are based especially on Rutherford backscattering and channeling analysis of the near-surface region of target materials using 300 to 400 keV alpha particles. The laboratory has two primary accelerators with maximum voltages of 200 kV and 160 kV, and a secondary accelerator. Both primary accelerators use universal ion sources that provide ion beams of most of the elements of the Periodic Table. The ultra-high-vacuum target chamber of the 160 kV accelerators is also equipped with an additional low-voltage (100 eV - 10 kV) secondary accelerator for low-energy implantations and film deposition.

The Reactor Laboratory maintains a 5-watt AGN-201M nuclear reactor for studies of nuclear reactor operations and interactions of neutrons with matter. In addition, the laboratory maintains a subcritical assembly for studying the neutron flux profile in a nuclear system and a graphite pile for examining the neutron thermalization process. The laboratory is used primarily for the educational program in the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

The computational simulation of complex physical processes plays a large and growing role in industry and in national defense. Simulations help designers and analysts assess the behavior of engineered and natural systems under a variety of conditions that are difficult or impossible to test experimentally. In addition, when experiments are feasible, simulation plays a vital role in the design of the experiments and the interpretation of their results. This makes experimental efforts more efficient and fruitful.

One objective of the Center for Large-Scale Scientific Simulations (CLASS) is to advance the state of the art in large-scale scientific simulations. This means developing numerical methods and computational strategies that enable more efficient solutions of larger problems on the latest computer platforms. CLASS strives to achieve this objective through research and development performed by collaborative multi-disciplinary teams including faculty from the Colleges of Engineering and Science at TAMU as well as key researchers from national laboratories.

The second objective is to lead the development of educational programs whose participants will be exceptionally well qualified for careers in scientific simulation. CLASS is working toward this objective by bringing together key faculty members from several departments (including Mathematics, Computer Science, and Nuclear Engineering) and key national-lab practitioners to collaboratively design graduate programs that will provide the broad range of skills and knowledge that are needed by tomorrow’s experts in scientific simulation.

The center's mission is to develop technologies with industry for NASA mission needs and space power-related commercial ventures. CSP has developed a variety of space power  and thermal management related technologies that are available for licensing and applicable to both space and terrestrial commercial activities. Technologies include specialized heat pipes, advanced battery components, novel electronic materials, digital communications algorithms, power conditioners, magnetic bearings for flywheel energy storage, and other power-related devices.

The Fuel Cycle and Materials Laboratory (FCML) was established to study current issues in the nuclear fuel cycle, including materials and chemical processing, advanced fuels and materials, and waste immobilization. Equipment in FCML includes high temperature furnaces, two inert atmosphere gloved boxes, and a 90-ton hydraulic press. These may be configured for casting, instrumented sintering, cold or hot pressing, and hot extrusion. Further, the laboratory is equipped and has been approved for the handling, testing and characterization of radioactive materials. Currently funded projects from the US Department of Energy include materials processing activities to develop advanced nuclear fuels for burning transuranic radionuclides and radioactive waste forms for isolating fission products.

The ITP Laboratory conducts research in the area of interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer.  Most recently the ITP group has worked on modeling and measurement of zero gravity two phase flow systems.  The laboratory builds research hardware and conducts extensive experimental programs in the NASA zero gravity aircraft. Examples of projects include space shuttle testing of a loop heat pipe, zero gravity development of a passive, vortex gas liquid separator for a space station experiment, and the development of a gas separator accumulator for a space nuclear reactor system.

The mission of the laboratory is to investigate the complex, multiphase flow of multiscale, multi-physics flow phenomena using non-intrusive global field measurement techniques. The laboratory provides the ability to use state-of-the art particle image velocimetry techniques to study these flows.  The laboratory is equipped with fast-pulsed, high-energy lasers and fast high-resolution cameras.  Data are analyzed using in-house developed tracking, imaging and pattern recognition routines. The combination of instantaneous measurements of full-fields of velocity and laser-induced temperature measurements enables a multitude of interesting studies of single and multiphase flows.

Provides specialized irradiation capabilities needed to implement radiation biology experiments to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling the risk of long term health effects related to low doses of ionizing radiation.  Radiation sources include 250 keV x ray machine, 80 keV electron microbeam, and 3 MeV tandem electrostatic accelerator with single particle microbeam capability.  The microbeam facilities can reproduce most of the range of charged particles that are found in environmental and industrial settings, and are designed to facilitate study of effects in bystander cells and other biological phenomena that are found at low doses.

The Nuclear Heat Transfer Systems Lab was established with the initial goals of investigating condensation heat transfer mechanisms, developing new reactor designs and safety systems, and advancing the state-of-the-art in reactor safety analysis. DOE NEER and NERI projects have been supporting three PhD students to perform experimental investigations of passive heat removal systems in advanced light-water reactors and to quantify uncertainties in modeling of Gen IV reactors. These and other projects from the nuclear industry in Japan and the US NRC have enabled the lab to construct thermal hydraulic facilities for testing of advanced safety system concepts and derive new theories for condensation heat removal in the presence of a non-condensable gas. The lab is equipped with a large steam supply, a high speed camera, extensive thermal hydraulic instrumentation and a state-of-the-art data acquisition system. New efforts focus on developing analysis methods for high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors and improving best estimate analysis with PRA methodologies.

This facility has a one-megawatt TRIGA swimming pool reactor that can be pulsed and a variety of other features including experimental laboratories, a large irradiation cell, beam ports, a thermal column and a pneumatic "rabbit" system. One of the best-equipped facilities of its type in the country, the facility is used in our laboratory courses as well as our research program.

The Radiation Detection Measurement Laboratory maintains instruments for studies of radiation and radioactive decay. The laboratory includes single-channel Geiger-Mueller stations, gas-flow proportional counters, alpha-spectrometers and a liquid scintillation counter. The laboratory also has 4000 channel Ge-Li solid-state detectors with computer control, which can be used for both time-domain and energy-spectra measurements. The laboratory is used both in the educational and research programs of the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

A 2 MeV Pelletron accelerator provides charged particle beams for radiation biology and dosimetry studies. Beam lines for single particle microbeam biology studies and for charged particle track structure studies are available. The accelerator provides particles in the energy range typical of proton recoils from neutron irradiation and alpha particles from radioactive sources.