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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.
John A. Bernard, Allan F. Henry, David D. Lanning
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 98 | Number 2 | February 1988 | Pages 87-96
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE88-A28488
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The “reactivity constraint approach” is described and demonstrated to be an effective and reliable means for the automatic control of power in nuclear reactors. This approach functions by restricting the effect of the delayed neutron populations to that which can be balanced by an induced change in the prompt population. This is done by limiting the net reactivity to the amount that can be offset by reversing the direction of motion of the automated control mechanism. The necessary reactivity constraints are obtained from the dynamic period equation, which gives the instantaneous reactor period as a function of the reactivity and the rate of change of reactivity. The derivation of this equation is described with emphasis on the recently obtained “alternate” formulation. Following a discussion of the behavior of each term of this alternate equation as a function of reactivity, its use in the design and operation of a nonlinear, closed-loop, digital controller for reactor power is described. Details of the initial experimental trials of the resulting controller are given.