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The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
J. A. Shields, Jr., K. J. Longua
Nuclear Technology | Volume 28 | Number 3 | March 1976 | Pages 471-481
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT76-A31527
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A 5-ft segment of 2¼ Cr—1 Mo ferritic steel pipe has been removed from the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) steam system for metallurgical evaluation after ∼90 000 h of service in the temperature range of 580 to 820°F (304 to 438°C). Optical metallography, instrumented impact testing, tensile testing, Auger electron spectroscopy, and scanning electron fractography have been performed to assess the capability of the material to perform its function in the future. Service in the EBR-II steam system has resulted in additional precipitation of fine uniformly dispersed carbides throughout the micro-structure. As a result of these changes, room temperature yield and tensile strengths are reduced 23.3 and 4.5%, respectively. Excellent toughness is observed on the upper shelf of the Charpy V-notch impact energy curve. No evidence of embrittlement phenomena was observed. The results indicate that the 2¼ Cr—1 Mo steel employed in the EBR-II system has not suffered significant degradation in metallurgical properties and should perform well in the future.