Oak Ridge Today

SNS adding 20th instrument

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An artistic rendering of the VENUS imaging beam line under construction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source. ORNL said VENUS will provide insights into research areas that include nuclear fuels such as uranium, left, additively manufactured materials, biological processes, engineered components, and studies of archeological and natural materials. (Image credit: ORNL/Jill Hemman)

A 20th research instrument is under construction at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The new neutron imaging instrument is known as VENUS, or Versatile Neutron Imaging Instrument. It is expected to be completed in 2022 and expected to be ready for scientific use by 2023.

“The beam line will ensure the United States remains competitive with international spallation sources that are already building or currently operate advanced imaging instruments,” ORNL said in an article by Jeremy Rumsey published Tuesday.

The new instrument will allow researchers to study “in real time” the makeup and performance of a wide range of functional materials under varying environments, ORNL said.

“Coupled with SNS, the world’s most powerful pulsed accelerator-based neutron source, VENUS will be the only open research facility platform in the U.S. to provide time-of-flight neutron imaging capabilities to users from academia and industry,” the lab said.

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