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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.
George H. Miley
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 21 | Number 3 | March 1965 | Pages 357-368
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE65-A20039
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An asymptotic velocity of (18.79 ± 0.32) × 103 cm/sec is reported for the propagation of a TRIGA reactor neutron pulse through a 4 ft × 4 ft × 5.8 ft graphite thermal column. Interpretation in terms of a proposed theory yields Dv = (2.34 ± 0.02) × 105cm2/sec for 1.60 g/cm3 graphite. The propagation velocity was found to be independent of reactivity inserted in the range covered by experiment (to 2.90 dollars). Also, the pulse shape was preserved with an amplitude attenuation length equal to that for the steady-state thermal flux. These results are attributed to the fact that the neutron lifetime in the column was shorter than the pulse width and period. Calculations are presented for the reverse situation where the pulse shape is distorted. Pulse measurements with a Boral curtain lowered into the column are used to test the theory for situations where the slowing-down density is important.