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
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has since been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that Unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. local time on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
Peter Mioduszewski
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 32 | Number 2 | September 1997 | Pages 277-286
Technical Paper | First-Wall Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A19897
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The purpose of a volumetric neutron source is the development and testing of the nuclear components of a fusion reactor. The main issue in this case is very long pulse operation, such as 2 weeks at a time, to elicit the nuclear effects to be studied. Operation at this pulse length will cause extreme erosion if the edge plasma cannot be tailored appropriately. Typical erosion rates that can be expected at some of the plasma-facing components such as the divertor target or the divertor baffles, without specifying a particular type of device, are analyzed. Accurate predictions of erosion and redeposition require not only knowledge of the erosion mechanism but also detailed knowledge of the plasma parameters, plasma flows, and their spatial distributions, as well as temperature distributions of plasma-facing components and other parameters. It is, therefore, a very difficult task to predict erosion/redeposition rates and patterns for future machines. Nevertheless, some estimate is needed of expected erosion rates, crude as they may be, so future machines for long-pulse operation can be designed. For that purpose, physical sputtering is examined only as a basis for erosion estimates and does not take into account the important processes of chemical sputtering and radiation-enhanced sublimation or the complicated redeposition processes. Even with this simplified approach, one can grasp the order of magnitude of erosion rates that will be encountered when a plasma device is operated for long pulses and at high-duty cycles.