ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2026
Nuclear Technology
July 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
D. M. Lucoff
Nuclear Technology | Volume 88 | Number 1 | October 1989 | Pages 21-29
Technical Paper | Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34333
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During 1986, the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) conducted several tests designed to improve the understanding of the passive safety characteristics of an oxide-fueled liquid-metal reactor (LMR). Static and dynamic tests were performed over a broad range of power, flow, and temperature conditions that extended beyond those for normal operation. Key results of these tests are presented. Stable operation at low power with natural circulation cooling was demonstrated. A passive safety enhancement feature, the gas expansion module (GEM) was developed specifically to offset the large amount of cooldown reactivity that needs to be controlled in an oxide-fueled LMR undergoing an unprotected loss-of-flow accident. Nine GEMs were built and successfully tested in FFTF. With the reactor at 50% power [200 MW(thermal)], the main coolant pumps were turned off and the normal control rod scram response was inhibited. The GEMs and inherent core reactivity feedback mechanisms took the core subcritical with a modest peak coolant temperature transient that reached 85°C above the pretransient value and always maintained a >400°C margin to the sodium boiling point (910°C).