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Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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!
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Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2025
Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Malcolm W. McGeoch, Patrick A. Corcoran, Robert G. Altes, Ian D. Smith, Stephen E. Bodner, Robert H. Lehmberg, Stephen P. Obenschain, John D. Sethian
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 32 | Number 4 | December 1997 | Pages 610-643
Technical Paper | Special Section: Plasma Control Issues for Tokamaks / ICF Driver Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A19908
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A detailed KrF amplifier model is first benchmarked against new data and then used to design higher-energy modules with segmented pumping. It is found that segmentation with unpumped regions does not carry with it any penalty in efficiency because the distributed geometry has reduced losses from amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) that counteract the fluorine absorption of unpumped regions. A 68-kJ module is designed, incorporating a new water line geometry and a combined switch/bushing. The electrical parameters of the module are calculated in detail. The effect of multiplexed beam-line energy on facility size is discussed, and an energy of 100 to 200 kJ is found to be optimal. Two 68-kJ modules are combined in a 136-kJ multiplexed beam line, incorporating incoherent spatial imaging, that fits within a compact beam tunnel. A total of 16 such beam lines are arranged on four floors to deliver 64 beams to a target; the net energy is 2.0 MJ. Detailed calculations of prepulse ASE energy are given, and the levels are designed to be low enough not to initiate a prepulse plasma. The basic geometrical uniformity of target illumination is shown to be better than 0.3% for a 64-beam illumination geometry that has a high degree of symmetry. A test of the 68-kJ module would be necessary to verify the projected specific laser energy and facilitate more detailed design of this fusion laser.