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Neutronic Flattening
Shaping the radial flux profile so that power density is uniform across a TRISO core.
A raw cylindrical core peaks flux at its center and starves the periphery. Flattening reshapes enrichment, moderator ratio, or reflector geometry so that the flux profile is nearly constant.
Uniform power density means uniform burnup, uniform fuel utilization, and lower peak-to-average clad temperature — a direct extension of core life and a lower probability of local hot-spot failure.
In the spectral basis, flattening is a projection constraint on the lowest eigenmodes of the transport operator.