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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.
P. Ihle
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 88 | Number 3 | November 1984 | Pages 206-219
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE84-A18578
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The results of flooding experiments with blocked arrays (FEBA) are presented, a program performed at Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe within the framework of the Project Nuclear Safety (PNS). Experiments performed out of pile show that coolant channel constrictions of up to 90% do not lead to significant core coolability problems during reflood. This is even true for low water injection rates corresponding to a flooding velocity of 2 cm/s for the cold bundle. The results of the thermal-hydraulic experiments cover rather widely the cladding temperature range below 1000°C. However, outlining the total range of heat transfer conditions in severely damaged rod bundle geometries, investigations performed within the framework of the PNS are mentioned as well. They provide information about the condition of rod bundles being exposed to temperatures of up to 2000°C prior to reflood.