Laboratory for Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour

LRS

General Mission of the LRS

The Laboratory for Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour (LRS) at EPFL is closely linked to its namesake in the Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES) of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen.

The primary responsibilities of LRS at EPFL are teaching and research related to nuclear energy at the masters and doctoral levels. A wide range of R&D topics related to both operating and advanced nuclear power plants are being pursued by the LRS research teams at both EPFL and PSI.

CROCUS: A Teaching and Research Reactor on Campus

LRS is responsible for the efficient and safe operation of CROCUS, the zero-power (100 W) teaching reactor on the EPFL campus. This nuclear facility offers a unique opportunity to a wide range of students. CROCUS provides both a crucial framework for detailed experimentation to students of the Masters in Nuclear Engineering and serves to introduce physics and mechanical engineering undergraduate students to the basic principles of the operation of nuclear power plants. The CROCUS reactor is placed under the surveillance of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI).

Links with LRS at Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI)

At its namesake laboratory at PSI, the R&D activities are organized into three main groups:

• Experimental Reactor Physics (ERP)
• Fast-spectrum Advanced Systems for power production and resource managemenT (FAST)
• Safety research related to Transient Analysis of Reactors in Switzerland (STARS)