Speaker
Description
With 250 days per year of user operations and a suite of 15 neutron beam instruments, the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS) is considered one of the most convenient user facilities worldwide to perform neutron beam experiments. ACNS operations relies on the 300 days per year at power by OPAL reactor, one of the youngest and reliable reactors. This presentation will discuss the successful operations of ACNS suite of instruments, their scientific highlights, the current improvement projects, and will give an overview of future plans. Particular emphasis will be given to the challenges presented by the facility continuous operations with short reactor shutdowns, typically 5 days every 30 to 35 days of operations. The presentation will discuss user access and management program and will review the systems integration within the different ACNS function groups. A discussion of relevant past and future projects and the related regulatory and safety framework will be briefly exposed.