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Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Fusion Science and Technology
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The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
H. Huang, H. W. Xu, K. P. Youngblood, D. R. Wall, R. B. Stephens, K. A. Moreno, A. Nikroo, K. J. Wu, M. Wang, A. V. Hamza
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 2 | March-April 2013 | Pages 190-201
Technical Paper | Selected papers from 20th Target Fabrication Meeting, May 20-24, 2012, Santa Fe, NM, Guest Editor: Robert C. Cook | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-TFM20-24
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The National Ignition Facility point design uses a five-layer capsule to modify the X-ray absorption in order to achieve optimized shock timing. A stepwise copper dopant design defines the layer structure; however, the as-deposited Cu distribution is significantly altered during the CH mandrel removal by pyrolysis. The changes are significant: (a) Cu diffuses on average several microns, a distance more than an order of magnitude larger than predicted from the bulk diffusion data, and (b) the Cu distribution, as a result of diffusion, is highly heterogeneous, introducing a local variation of [approximately]0.06 at. % near the original layer interface. In this study, we developed quantitative techniques to measure Cu diffusion and explored its correlation to beryllium microstructures. Plausible diffusion mechanisms and mitigation methods will be discussed. These findings will enable more accurate evaluation of the expected target performance.