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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.
Theodore R. Schmidt, David L. Hetrick
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 42 | Number 1 | October 1970 | Pages 1-9
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE70-A19320
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The space-independent reactor kinetics equations with two reactivity feedbacks are analyzed for stability and nonlinear oscillations. Expressions are derived using Fourier series methods for determining the frequency and fundamental amplitudes of the oscillations in reactivity and power. These results are compared with exact solutions of the system equations and agree in all cases for equilibrium power levels near the critical power level. The system of equations is examined for the effect of delayed neutrons on oscillatory solutions. When delayed neutrons are included, unstable limit cycles are found as well as stable limit cycles.