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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Powering the future: How the DOE is fueling nuclear fuel cycle research and development
As global interest in nuclear energy surges, the United States must remain at the forefront of research and development to ensure national energy security, advance nuclear technologies, and promote international cooperation on safety and nonproliferation. A crucial step in achieving this is analyzing how funding and resources are allocated to better understand how to direct future research and development. The Department of Energy has spearheaded this effort by funding hundreds of research projects across the country through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). This initiative has empowered dozens of universities to collaborate toward a nuclear-friendly future.
Takanobu Kamei, Tadashi Yoshida
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 84 | Number 2 | June 1983 | Pages 83-97
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE83-1
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the design of a large liquid-metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR), the bias-factor method is usually applied to reduce the error of predicted values of neutronics parameters. These bias factors are obtained through the analysis of mock-up experiments. When there exist some differences between the reactor to be designed and its mock-up experimental system, it is impossible to be free from extrapolation errors even after the application of the bias factor. This paper presents an evaluation model for the above kind of extrapolation error, which still remains after the biasing, due to cross-section uncertainties. As an example of an application of this model, the extrapolation error of the design parameters of a 1000-MW(electric) fast breeder reactor was evaluated for the case where bias factors from the large LMFBR mock-up critical experiment, ZPPR-10D, were available. As a result, the error in keff was found to range 0.3 to 1.1% depending on how precisely the reactivity effect of higher plutonium isotopes (especially 241Pu) was predicted. The extrapolation error was predicted to be <2.5% for the control rod worth and also for the fission rate distributions of 239Pu and 238U. It was also shown that the extrapolation error for the control rod worth was reduced by use of a bias factor constructed from some different rod patterns.
