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The
Ford Nuclear Reactor was a facility at the
University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor dedicated to investigating the peaceful uses of
nuclear power. It was a part of the
Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, a living memorial created to honor the casualties of
World War II. The reactor operated from September
1957 until July 3, 2003. During its operation, the FNR was used to study
medicine,
cellular biology,
chemistry,
physics,
mineralogy,
archeology,
anthropology, and
nuclear science.
The reactor was a swimming-pool type reactor, originally operating at 1
MW using 93% enriched
U-235 Aluminum-based fuel. It was later upgraded to 2 MW, using 19.5% enriched fuel. The
Department of Energy fabricated, transported, and disposed of the fuel at no cost to the University. The reactor had a peak
thermal flux of 3 x 10<sup>13</sup> n/cm²s. It had 10 beam ports. It was constructed by
Babcock & Wilcox under a subcontract with
Leeds & Northrup.
The decommissioned FNR building, Phoenix Memorial Laboratory, still stands on North Campus at the University of Michigan. The building is set to be renovated into a home for the
Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, a university-wide program tasked with charting the path towards
sustainable energy.
The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project
The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project (MMPP) was a living
World War II memorial pursuing peaceful uses of
nuclear energy. It was originally funded by over...
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