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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.
Hangbok Choi, Bo W. Rhee, Hyunsoo Park
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 126 | Number 1 | May 1997 | Pages 80-93
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE97-A24459
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Physics studies have been performed for the compatibility of DUPIC fuel design to the existing CANDU-6. The DUPIC fuel is made of spent pressurized water reactor fuel through a dry process, and the bundle design utilizes an advanced CANDU fuel bundle geometry that is mechanically compatible with the current fuel channel and refueling system. The characteristics of a DUPIC core are compared to the current operation limits and performances of a natural uranium core. The refueling simulations have shown that the channel and bundle powers are well below the operation limits for the two- and four-bundle shift refueling schemes. The fuel performance parameters during the refueling operation reserve enough margin to the stress corrosion cracking threshold of natural uranium fuel. With the aid of burnable poison material in the fuel, the safety performance of a DUPIC core is made comparable to that of a natural uranium core. The details of DUPIC fuel design and analysis are described.