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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.
W. A. Coleman
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 46 | Number 1 | October 1971 | Pages 12-21
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A22331
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Monte Carlo calculations for monoenergetic x rays (70 to 200 keV) normally incident on soil have been performed to determine changes in the reflected radiation due to material perturbations at depths of 1 and 1.6 mean-free-paths. The accuracy of the calculations was achieved using a scheme of correlated sampling in which a “complete correlation” is maintained in the sense that identical sampled event sequences are used for the perturbed and unperturbed problem. A somewhat general discussion of correlated sampling is included with emphasis on the mathematical reasons for employing the method. It is shown for a special case that a naive use of correlated sampling may lead to results drastically inferior to those obtained by independent sampling. The Monte Carlo calculations are compared with two-dimensional discrete ordinates results and agreement is very good. Output quantities are reported in terms of energy-dependent fluence and current. The calculated results demonstrate the feasibility of the approach to albedo sensitivity problems in general.