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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Launching into tomorrow: NRIC guides new era of research and deployment
In June 2025, the Department of Energy announced the Reactor Pilot Program, an authorization pathway that allowed reactor developers to partner with the DOE to get first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors built and tested. Soon after, the DOE rolled out a complementary Fuel Line Pilot Program, which aimed to fast-track fuel projects. In all, 20 projects were accepted into the new programs.
C. E. Dickerman, L. E. Robinson, B. Blumenthal, R. Stewart
Nuclear Technology | Volume 3 | Number 1 | January 1967 | Pages 9-17
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT67-A27819
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Sodium-bonded Th-20wt%U fast-reactor-type fuel elements have been studied in transient meltdown experiments ranging up to complete sample meltdown, conducted in the TREAT reactor. The high melting thorium matrix supported the fuel during transient heating at temperatures significantly beyond the solidus. Because the fuel was still relatively intact at the temperatures of cladding failure, internal pressure was not effective in ejecting fuel upon failure. The dominant mechanism of fuel movement was gravity.