GLEEP
Encyclopedia
GLEEP, which stood for Graphite Low Energy Experimental Pile, was a long-lived experimental British
nuclear reactor
. Run for the first time on August 15, 1947, it was the first reactor to operate in Western Europe
.
It was built at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
, a former Royal Air Force
airfield, near Harwell, Oxfordshire
in an aircraft hangar. It was a graphite
moderated
, air-cooled reactor and used 11,500 natural uranium fuel aluminium
-clad rods inserted into 676 horizontal fuel channels. With a normal power output of just 3 kilowatts, it was initially used for investigations into reactor design and operation, and later for the calibration of instruments for measuring neutron
flux.
It had an exceptionally long life for a reactor of 43 years, being shut down in 1990. The fuel was removed in 1994 and the control rod
s and external equipment the following year. A project to completely dismantle it was started in 2003 and completed in October 2004.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
. Run for the first time on August 15, 1947, it was the first reactor to operate in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
.
It was built at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire, was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s.-Founding:...
, a former Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
airfield, near Harwell, Oxfordshire
Harwell, Oxfordshire
Harwell is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse west of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Amenities:...
in an aircraft hangar. It was a graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
moderated
Neutron moderator
In nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium that reduces the speed of fast neutrons, thereby turning them into thermal neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction involving uranium-235....
, air-cooled reactor and used 11,500 natural uranium fuel aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
-clad rods inserted into 676 horizontal fuel channels. With a normal power output of just 3 kilowatts, it was initially used for investigations into reactor design and operation, and later for the calibration of instruments for measuring neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
flux.
It had an exceptionally long life for a reactor of 43 years, being shut down in 1990. The fuel was removed in 1994 and the control rod
Control rod
A control rod is a rod made of chemical elements capable of absorbing many neutrons without fissioning themselves. They are used in nuclear reactors to control the rate of fission of uranium and plutonium...
s and external equipment the following year. A project to completely dismantle it was started in 2003 and completed in October 2004.