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The 'Advanced Test Reactor' ('ATR') is a research reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. This reactor is primarily designed and used for materials testing.

The ATR is the third in a series of reactors designed to test materials to be used in other, larger-scale and prototype reactors. It was designed to operate at a maximum power of 250 MWth and has a "Four Leaf Clover" design that allows a myriad of testing locations. The unique design allows for different flux in various locations and specialized systems also allow for certain experiments to be run at their own temperature and pressure.
The ATR is light water moderated and cooled, with a beryllium neutron reflector. It is pressurized and housed in a stainless steel tank.
As well as its role in materials irradiation work, ATR is the USA's only source of Cobalt-60 for medical applications and of Plutonium-238 for radioisotope thermoelectric generators used in space probes.

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★ The Advanced Test Reactor Turns 40 And Still Meeting Research Needs

★ ATR factsheet (PDF, 868KB).