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.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Feb 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Raffaele Albanese, Teresa Bellizio, JET-EFDA Contributors
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 59 | Number 2 | February 2011 | Pages 363-375
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST11-A11652
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper describes the procedure adopted for the selection of an alternative controlled variable to be used for the vertical stabilization (VS) of elongated plasmas in the JET tokamak in the framework of the Plasma Control Upgrade (PCU) activities. The PCU enhancement project, aimed at increasing the capabilities of the VS system, explored the possibility of having a valid alternative to the controlled variable ZPDIP used for several years. The main motivation of this study was the need of operating JET in future campaigns with the new ITER-like wall, which is expected to significantly shield some magnetic diagnostics. This study was also aimed at improving the VS capabilities by reducing the effect of edge-localized modes on the vertical position estimator. The alternative controlled variable was also planned to play the role of backup solution in case of trouble with the standard one after the modifications of the radial field circuit. The selection was made paying particular attention to robustness, reliability, and reduced impact on the ongoing experimental campaigns. The new controlled variable, denoted OBS05, was successfully tested in JET in a variety of plasma scenarios and became the new vertical velocity estimator for the VS system.
