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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.
R. C. Anderson, C. A. Erdman, A. B. Reynolds
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 88 | Number 4 | December 1984 | Pages 495-512
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE84-A18368
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Droplet size distributions from the bulk flashing of 50°C superheated water were measured experimentally. The distributions were lognormal, with a geometric mean droplet diameter Dg of 124 µm and a geometric standard deviation σg of 1.30. Measured droplet size distributions at 40 and 30°C superheat were also lognormal, but the values for Dg and σg were not sufficiently reproducible to compare to the 50°C superheat results. Flashing occurred from a 16.4-ml chamber through a 19-mm-diam opening. The door opening time was 1.6 ms. Measurements were made by collecting droplets containing blue dye on paper mounted on a rotating bicycle wheel. Spot sizes were correlated with droplet sizes using neutron activation analysis by adding samarium nitrate to the water and activating the samarium. Measurements of pressure, temperature, and expansion velocity during the flashing process were made and compared with calculated values with moderately good agreement. Exploratory calculations of maximum droplet diameters based on the critical Weber number (aerodynamic fragmentation) were made with results within a factor of 2 or 3 of the measured values.