Fuel Element Flask

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/7.1 · 0.6s · ISO 64
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

Painted yellow and red, a fuel element cooler stencilled 'NI-19470 KG' at its base stands at the centre of the reactor hall at ANSTO's HIFAR (High Flux Australian Reactor), Lucas Heights. Its control panel carries paired gauges for the coolant inlet and outlet temperature, with a blue pipe and valve assembly running down to the concrete floor. A yellow handwheel wrapped in red and white hazard tape sits to the left, near a blue container marked 'DURAB'. HIFAR was a 10 MW heavy-water research reactor that ran from 1958 until 2007.

Edition

Open edition

Open edition
Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

Limited edition
A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

$100.00 AUD

Colour

Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 5 to 10 business days (unframed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.

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In situ

Fuel Element Flask at ANSTO HIFAR, black-framed print displayed in situ on a wall.

Fuel Element Flask at ANSTO HIFAR, raw timber-framed print displayed in situ on a wall.

Fuel Element Flask at ANSTO HIFAR, glass print displayed in situ on a wall.

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: Fuel Element Flask
Series: ANSTO HIFAR
Catalogue: AHF-006
Process: Giclée
Captured: 7 October 2022
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter: 0.6s s
ISO: 64
Focal length: 14 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size: 297 × 210 mm
Location: Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity: C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by: Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards

02 LOCATION

Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

A fuel element flask stands inside the HIFAR reactor building at Lucas Heights. The flask is a heavy steel-cased container, lead-lined, with an integrated air cooling system built into the housing. The lifting points are heavy lugs at the upper rim, sized for the polar crane to handle. The flask carries the operational markings of its working life: paint codes, identification labels, and indicator decals across its outer surface.

Fuel transfer flasks at HIFAR moved fuel elements between the reactor's top plate and the water-cooled storage blocks elsewhere in the building. The lead lining shielded personnel during handling. HIFAR ran on a maximum core load of 25 fuel elements with around 30 elements consumed per year. Fuel evolved through three marks across the reactor's life: Mark II to 1964, Mark III to 1971, and Mark IV from 1970 to shutdown on 30 January 2007.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

This 19.47-tonne flask was one of two types used in reactor operations at ANSTO HIFAR: fuel flasks for handling fuel elements and rig flasks for experimental assemblies. Each was designed with precision to ensure safe containment and transport of radioactive materials.

Brett Patman

The series

ANSTO HIFAR

2022 · 49 photographs

At 11:15 pm on Sunday 26 January 1958, Australia Day, the High Flux Australian Reactor went critical for the first time with 11 of 25 fuel elements loaded. The men in the control room had come from Oak Ridge, Chalk River and Harwell. HIFAR was Australia's first nuclear reactor.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.