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The present article describes the design of the Soviet SM research reactor, where the neutral flux attains 2.2·1015 neutron/cm2-sec. The intensive neutron and γ-ray fluxes that are obtained in the reactor make it possible to perform many investigations in the fields of nuclear physics and reactor techniques.

Design details are given for the Soviet research reactor SM in which the neutron flux reaches a level of 2·2 × 10 15 neutrons cm −2 sec −1 . The intense fluxes of neutrons and γ-rays available in this reactor enable a large number of experiments in the fields of nuclear physics and reactor technology to be carried out. The SM reactor is an intermediate reactor with a high ratio of maximum neutron flux to thermal power. The efficiency of any research reactor is determined by the value of this ratio and for the SM reactor it is 4·4 × 10 10 neutrons cm −2 sec −1 kW −1 . The building of this reactor represents a notable advance in Soviet reactor construction and its design owes much to the experience gained in designing and running earlier Soviet research reactors. Since this article is concerned mainly with the engineering aspects of the design, no details are given of the physical characteristics of the reactor.