Facilities

The experimental laboratories of the Wisconsin Institute of Nuclear Systems encompass a wide range of activities with diverse instrumentation and data acquisition systems. There are three major laboratories in which research is conducted:

1. The Tantalus laboratory and facilities at the UW Kegonsa Research Campus for large scale safety experiments involving hazardous materials.

   The Tantalus facility houses our experiments in high-speed X-ray imaging, large scale nuclear and chemical waste management and our vapor explosion facility, WFCI. The facility has a main underground laboratory space from which experiments can be operated remotely from a separate central control room by closed circuit TV and high speed data acquisition systems for maximum data management and personnel safety. X-ray imaging is real time with two-dimensional picture resolution and can be performed with one of three X-ray energies, customized to the target object. The experiments can also be instrumented with the latest high frequency pressure, temperature and flow devices. The facility is also supported by the expertise available at the UW Physical Science Laboratory and the Synchrotron Radiation Center at the Kegonsa Campus.

2. The Liquid Metals laboratory in the Engineering Research Building for small scale experiments with a variety of engineering materials.

   The Liquid Metal laboratory houses a number of small scale safety experiments performed for a variety of sponsors on materials compatibility, fluid flow, heat transfer and chemical reactivity. Similar to Tantalus it is remotely sited on the 14-16th floors of the ERB with special features for chemical safety. A small scale shock tube, high purity glove box, mass spectrometer, high temperature furnaces and associated high speed data acquisition systems for data gathering are integrated into the lab available for use with any of the experiments.

3. The Thermal-Hydraulics laboratory situated near the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory for our multiphase experiments.

   The Thermal-Hydraulics laboratory is a multiphase flow and heat transfer facility used for large and small scale experiments. It is situated in the basement of the Mechanical Engineering building with the UW Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. The laboratory houses the AP600 condensation heat transfer experiments, the small scale vapor explosion facility, the critical flow and cryogenic experiments, and the large scale shock tube facility, in addition to specialized multiphase tests. In addition, neutron radiography of multiphase flows are performed with the UW Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. In addition to high speed data acquisition systems for these tests, the laboratory specializes in qualitative and quantitative visualization of multiphase phenomena using such techniques as Particle Image Velocimetry and the Light Extinction Technique, with specialized modifications developed by our laboratory.

Computer Resource Guide