ACTIVITIES AT IGCAR

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research [IGCAR], an establishment of the Department of Atomic Energy was set up at Kalpakkam 80 km south of Chennai, in 1971 for "... conducting broad based multidisciplinary programme of scientific research and advanced engineering, directed towards the development of sodium cooled Fast Breeder Reactor [FBR] technology, in India". This forms a part of the second stage of the Indian Atomic Energy programme for the effective utilization of Uranium and leading to the exploitation of the large energy potential in Thorium in the third stage. Fast Breeder Reactors are expected to play a critical role in meeting the energy security of our country in the next century.

        In order to meet the objective of the Centre, the activities are being shared between the following Groups:

	Chemistry Group [CG]
	Electronics, Instrumentation & Safety Radiological Group [EIRSG]
	Engineering Services Group [ESG]
	Fast Reactor Technology Group [FRTG]
	Metallurgy and Materials Group [MMG]
	Materials Science Group [MSG]
	Reactor Design Group [RDG]
	Reactor Operation & Maintenance Group [ROMG]
	Reprocessing Group [RpG]
	Resource Management Group [rmg]

        All the administrative activities of the Centre are managed by both the Accounts and Administration

        In meeting the objectives, a modest beginning was made by constructing a sodium cooled Fast Breeder Test Reactor [FBTR].

• Sodium technology
• Engineering development of reactor components specific to FBRs
• High temperature chemistry and basic thermodynamic studies on fuel materials
• Metallurgical studies related to mechanical, physical & corrosion aspects of materials used in FBRs
• Development of welding & hard facing technology
• Non-Destructive Examination [NDE] for materials characterization
• Post irradiation examination of fuels
• Reprocessing of fast reactor fuels
• Basic studies in low temperature and high pressure physics
• Studies on thin films
• Reactor kinetics, safety & noise analysis and core physics
• Nuclear data processing and validation
• Radiation transport and shielding
• Bio fouling
• Microbial corrosion
• Sodium fires, sodium-concrete interactions & aerosol studies
• Radiation emergency preparedness
• Computer Aided Design
• Superconductivity & SQUID development
• Radiation damage to materials
• Structure and properties of quasi crystals
• Computer based Data acquisition & control systems
• Reactor Simulator

• FBTR for materials research and irradiation experiments
• KAlpakkam MINI [KAMINI] reactor for Neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography etc,.
• Particle Irradiation Facility consisting of
• * 2 MV Tandem accelerator
• * 400 KV Ion accelerator
• * 150 kV gaseous ion implanter
• Central Workshop
• Positron Beam Facility
• Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer
• High Pressure Diamond Anvil Cell
• Image analysis facility for NDE, metallurgy and materials science applications
• Thermal imaging system
• Micro focal radiography
• XRD & XRF Facilities
• Thin film sensors development facility
• Residual Stress measurement unit
• Laser holography
• Multi channel eddy current system for NDE
• Counting facilities for detection and measurement of radioactivity
• 3-dimensional co-ordination measurement system
• ASIC Design facility
• High power Computer systems & Workstations

        The Centre has a staff strength of 2816 including 1274  Engineers and Scientists.

BUDGET

        An annual outlay of the Centre is around 670 million rupees towards the R & D activities and plan schemes.

Back to Home

Site Owned & Maintained by:
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research,
Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.