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May 31–June 3, 2026
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Seconds Matter: Rethinking Nuclear Facility Security for the Modern Threat Landscape
In today’s rapidly evolving threat environment, nuclear facilities must prioritize speed and precision in their security responses—because in critical moments, every second counts. An early warning system serves as a vital layer of defense, enabling real-time detection of potential intrusions or anomalies before they escalate into full-blown incidents. By providing immediate alerts and actionable intelligence, these systems empower security personnel to respond decisively, minimizing risk to infrastructure, personnel, and the public. The ability to anticipate and intercept threats at the earliest possible stage not only enhances operational resilience but also reinforces public trust in the safety of nuclear operations. Investing in such proactive technologies is no longer optional—it’s essential for modern nuclear security.
Y. Y. Azmy, B. L. Kirk
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 120 | Number 1 | May 1995 | Pages 1-17
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE95-A24102
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Mathematical performance models are developed for the parallel algorithm used to solve the neutron diffusion equation on message passing and shared memory multiprocessors represented by the Intel iPSC/860 and the Sequent Balance 8000, respectively. The performance models are validated through several test problems, and these models are used to estimate the performance of each of the two considered architectures in situations typical of practical applications, such as fine meshes and a large number of participating processors. While message passing computers are capable of producing speedup, the parallel efficiency deteriorates rapidly as the number of processors increases. Furthermore, the speedup fails to improve appreciably for massively parallel computers so that only small- to medium-sized message passing multiprocessors offer a reasonable platform for this algorithm. In contrast, the performance model for the shared memory architecture predicts very high efficiency over a wide range of number of processors reasonable for this architecture. Furthermore, the model efficiency of the Sequent remains superior to that of the hypercube if its model parameters are adjusted to make its processors as fast as those of the iPSC/860. It is concluded that shared memory computers are better suited for this parallel algorithm than message passing computers.
