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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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.
R. C. Berkan, B. R. Upadhyaya, L. H. Tsoukalas, R. A. Kisner
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 109 | Number 2 | October 1991 | Pages 188-199
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE91-A28517
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Axial flux shape control in large pressurized water reactors constitutes one of the most challenging control problems in the nuclear field. In commercial plants, the practical solutions are obtained at the expense of departure from the most economical operational conditions, often due to the difficulties in monitoring xenon-induced oscillations and inadequate control actions. The concept of inverse dynamics in control is introduced as an alternative approach for spatial control. The method is tested through computer simulations using a validated nonlinear model that successfully represents the limit-cycle behavior. Compared with the widely used half-cycling strategy or the proposed optimal control methods in the literature, the use of inverse dynamics for partial-length rod control yields desirable stability characteristics. The return to target axial offset exhibits a smooth transition without any residual flux oscillations between the upper and lower halves of the core. The proposed approach consists of a set of nonlinear algebraic equations for control with single-step solutions. Thus, it is easier to implement compared with iterative or integral techniques.