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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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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.
Frederick G. Hammitt, M. John Robinson, and J. F. Lafferty
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 29 | Number 1 | July 1967 | Pages 131-142
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE67-A17815
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two theoretical models to predict axial pressure distribution, void fraction, and velocity in a cavitating venturi are applied. The theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data from cold-water and mercury tests, and good agreement for the pressure profiles is found. The predicted void fractions are found to be too high, probably because the models assume zero slip or negative slip between the vapor and liquid phases. The analogy between the cavitating venturi and other choked-flow regimes is explored. One of the theoretical models used is based on the assumption that the cavitating venturi is essentially entirely analogous to a deLaval nozzle operating in a choked-flow regime with a compressible gas. The cavitating venturi is an example of an extremely low quality two-phase choked flow device. The present study is thus somewhat applicable to the study of liquid-cooled nuclear reactor pressure vessel or piping ruptures, which have received considerable attention in recent years. However, the qualities encountered in the present cavitation case are an order of magnitude lower than those usually considered for the reactor safety analyses, so that the present study is a limiting case for these.