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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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New coolants, new fuels: A new generation of university reactors
Here’s an easy way to make aging U.S. power reactors look relatively youthful: Compare them (average age: 43) with the nation’s university research reactors. The 25 operating today have been licensed for an average of about 58 years.
J. J. Koelling, G. E. Hansen, C. C. Byers
Nuclear Technology | Volume 35 | Number 3 | October 1977 | Pages 611-616
Technical Paper | Reactor Siting | doi.org/10.13182/NT77-A31870
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The critical masses and fission and explosive energy releases of PuO2, PuO2-U2, UO2, and UO3 assemblies have been calculated. The parameters selected for the model are conservative. They were chosen after review of appropriate plants that have been and are proposed for construction in the future. The resulting data envelopes are intended to include any conceivable set of circumstances that could ultimately lead to a nuclear incident. All energy release analysis was performed for initial fission spikes only: recriticality mechanisms were not considered.