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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. Scherer, H. Gerwin, T. Kindt, W. Patscher
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 97 | Number 1 | September 1987 | Pages 58-63
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE87-A23496
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor high-temperature reactor low-enriched fuel elements have been loaded for several years, replacing about half of the initial highly enriched uranium-thorium fuel. This changeover is accompanied by an elaborate experimental program wherein changes in the neutronics and thermohydraulics behavior of the system are monitored. Within this program reactor transients are induced by means of either circulator speed reduction or control rod movement. The resulting transients in neutron flux and temperatures are recorded and used as a basis for detailed theoretical analysis. Working groups at several institutions have carried out transient calculations using different dynamic codes. The results are presented and differences are discussed. In general, the experimental values were reproduced in a very satisfactory way.