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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.
Tien-Ko Wang, F. M. Clikeman, K. O. Ott
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 93 | Number 3 | July 1986 | Pages 262-272
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE86-A17755
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experimental and computational studies of the gamma-ray energy deposition rate in the Fast Breeder Blanket Facility (FBBF) were performed with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs). Various corrections including the TLD neutron sensitivities and the f factors (general cavity-ionization theory) were applied to the TLD measurements. Comparisons were made with results of three computer codes — 1DX, 2DB, and ANISN — and two nuclear libraries — LIB-IV and EPR. Both neutron and gamma-ray calculations were performed. The previously reported deviations between the gamma-ray energy deposition calculated-toexperiment (C/E) ratios for lead and for stainless steel were resolved. It is believed that the remaining C/E discrepancy comes primarily from the inaccuracies in the neutronics part of the calculations, because similar dropoffs are also reported in the FBBF reaction rate C/E comparisons. Detailed analysis of the deviation between transport (Sn) and diffusion calculations in the FBBF were performed. It was found that the deviation is built up in the blanket region and is largely independent of the curvature of the “independent” source region. Comparisons between Sn and diffusion calculations (on a one-dimensional basis) for neutron fluxes and reaction rates indicated that the use of transport calculations should reduce the discrepancies of C/E comparisons.