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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.
A. Dubi, S. A. W. Gerstl
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 76 | Number 2 | November 1980 | Pages 198-217
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE80-A19451
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recently, a new Monte Carlo method called the contributon Monte Carlo method was developed. The method is based on the theory of “contributons” and utilizes a new recipe for estimating target responses using a volume integral over the contributon current. The analog features of the new method were discussed in previous publications. We examine the application of some biasing methods to the new contributon scheme. A theoretical model is developed that enables an analytic prediction of the benefit to be expected when these biasing schemes are applied to both the contributon method and regular Monte Carlo. This model is verified by a variety of numerical experiments and is shown to yield satisfying results, especially for deep-penetration problems. Other considerations regarding the efficient use of the new method are also discussed and remarks are made as to the application of other biasing methods.