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2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Christmas Light
’Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
No electrons were flowing through even my mouse.
All devices were plugged by the chimney with care
With the hope that St. Nikola Tesla would share.
V. O. Uotinen, J. H. Lauby, L. C. Schmid, W. P. Stinson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 15 | Number 2 | August 1972 | Pages 257-271
Technical Paper | Plutonium Utilization in Commercial Power Reactors / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT72-A31150
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Results of experiments conducted in the Critical Approach Facility are presented for a total of 48 lattices of plutonium-enriched rods. Five kinds of UO2-PuO2 rods ranging in PuO2 enrichment from 1.5 to 4.0 wt%, and three kinds of Al-Pu rods ranging in plutonium enrichment from 1.8 to 5.0 wt%, were used in the experiments. The lattices covered a broad range of water-to-rod volume ratios. Parameters reported for each lattice are: the number of rods required for a critical loading, the relaxation length measured in an exponential loading, the critical buckling, and reflector savings. For five of the lattices results are also reported of the worth of central absorber rods of boron and hafnium. The results of approach-to-critical experiments were verified by comparing them with the results of critical measurements conducted in three lattices.