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DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
H. F. McFarlane, S. B. Brumbach, S. G. Carpenter, P. J. Collins
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 101 | Number 2 | February 1989 | Pages 137-152
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE101-137
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Results of the first benchmark physics tests of a metallic-fueled, demonstration-size, liquid-metal reactor (LMR) are reported. A simple, two-zone, cylindrical conventional assembly was built with three distinctly different compositions to represent the stages of the Integral Fast Reactor fuel cycle. Experiments included criticality, control, power distribution, reaction rate ratios, reactivity coefficients, shielding, kinetics, and spectrum. Analysis was done with three-dimensional nodal diffusion calculations and ENDF/B-V.2 cross sections. Predictions of the ZPPR-15 reactor physics parameters agreed sufficiently well with the measured values to justify confidence in design analyses for metallic-fueled LMRs.