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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Powering the future: How the DOE is fueling nuclear fuel cycle research and development
As global interest in nuclear energy surges, the United States must remain at the forefront of research and development to ensure national energy security, advance nuclear technologies, and promote international cooperation on safety and nonproliferation. A crucial step in achieving this is analyzing how funding and resources are allocated to better understand how to direct future research and development. The Department of Energy has spearheaded this effort by funding hundreds of research projects across the country through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). This initiative has empowered dozens of universities to collaborate toward a nuclear-friendly future.
Matjaz Ravnik, Robert Jeraj
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 145 | Number 1 | September 2003 | Pages 145-152
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE03-A2370
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A criticality benchmark experiment performed at the Jozef Stefan Institute TRIGA Mark II research reactor is described. This experiment and its evaluation are given as examples of benchmark experiments at research reactors. For this reason the differences and possible problems compared to other benchmark experiments are particularly emphasized. General guidelines for performing criticality benchmarks in research reactors are given. The criticality benchmark experiment was performed in a normal operating reactor core using commercially available fresh 20% enriched fuel elements containing 12 wt% uranium in uranium-zirconium hydride fuel material. Experimental conditions to minimize experimental errors and to enhance computer modeling accuracy are described. Uncertainties in multiplication factor due to fuel composition and geometry data are analyzed by sensitivity analysis. The simplifications in the benchmark model compared to the actual geometry are evaluated. Sample benchmark calculations with the MCNP and KENO Monte Carlo codes are given.