831

Unique users 

in FY 2022

969 

Total experiments

in FY 2022

714

Scientific publications

in FY 2022*

*477 instrument publications and 237 other scientific publications by 

ORNL’s neutron sciences staff.

68,562 

Hours of beam 

time in FY 2022 The Second 

Target Station 

(illustration 

on left) will 

complement 

existing 

SNS and

HFIR 

capabilities.

ORNL hosts two of the world’s most powerful sources of neutrons for research: the 

Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), which produce 

beams of neutrons by two different processes. Because neutrons have no electrical 

charge, they can easily pass through a sample of material without harming it, revealing 

information about the material’s structure and properties. 

Neutron scattering is used in many industries—including automotive, aerospace, steel, 

defense, industrial materials, energy storage, data storage, and biomedicine—to address 

many of the major scientific challenges of the 21st century. 

Ensuring US Leadership

The Proton Power Upgrade (PPU), planned for completion in 2025, will increase the 

SNS neutron flux and significantly increase its capability to support the US research 

community. The PPU is necessary to support a Second Target Station that will maintain 

US competitiveness in materials development as new European and Asian neutron 

facilities come online.

“We can work together and really push 

our understanding of the world.”

—Physicist Bianca Haberl

Neutrons for New Discoveries 

and Solutions

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

Breakthroughs in medicine, energy, technology, and industry follow advances in the understanding of materials. Oak Ridge National 

Laboratory (ORNL) is the US epicenter of one of the most powerful techniques for exploring the nature of materials—neutron scattering. 
CONTACT:

Neutron Sciences 

Directorate

neutrons.ornl.gov

865-574-0558

One Bethel Valley Road, 

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

www.neutrons.ornl.gov

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle LLC for the US Department of Energy January 2023

Impacts and Collaborations

• Space flight: NASA researchers used HFIR to study stresses 

in 3D-printed materials for use in space flight. The team 

studied a 3D-printed version of an engine component that 

could save years in building a flight-ready engine. 

• Infrastructure: Columbia University researchers used 

neutrons at SNS to study small breaks in suspension bridge 

cable wires and how they affect the overall strength 

of the cable—and ultimately the bridge. SNS allowed 

nondestructive study of the wires to develop safe, costeffective cable repair methods. 

• Stronger glass: Researchers from Corning use neutrons 

to study how silica behaves as it heats and cools. Better 

understanding means better durability for products such 

as mobile devices, windshields, and TV screens.

• Drug discovery: Neutron analysis at HFIR helped 

researchers better understand a protein implicated in 

the replication of HIV, the retrovirus that causes AIDS. The 

enzyme is a key drug target for HIV and AIDS therapies. 

• Better batteries: Researchers used HFIR to study a solidcore garnet, a material used in lithium batteries, that could 

be a key to safer, more reliable energy storage. Neutrons 

allowed for direct observation of battery behavior to 

explore ways of extending battery life.

• Fuel injection: HFIR was used to make the first neutron 

images of cavitation (gas bubble formation) inside an 

operating gasoline fuel injector. The HFIR data will enable 

improvements in injector design.

ORNL research primarily supports three 

key program areas on behalf of DOE.

SNS is an accelerator-based facility that provides the world’s 

most powerful pulsed neutron beams for scientific research 

and industrial development. SNS delivers short pulses of 

protons—60 times a second—to a target system where 

neutrons are produced via a process called spallation.

HFIR uses highly enriched uranium-235 as the fuel to generate 

85 megawatts of power for the highest neutron flux 

(continuous flow of neutrons) available in the United States.

• Reliable aircraft: NASA and Honeywell Aerospace used neutrons at SNS to examine nickel alloy 

samples containing a type of weld used in turbines. The measurements will facilitate designing 

and manufacturing more reliable aircraft components.