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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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 Science and Engineering
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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.
Alfredo Portone, Raffaele Albanese, Yuri V. Gribov, Michel Huguet, David H. Humphreys, Charles E. Kessel, Pier Luigi Mondino, L. Donald Pearlstein, John C. Wesley
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 32 | Number 3 | November 1997 | Pages 374-389
Technical Paper | Plasma Control Issues for Tokamaks | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A2
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The methodology and the up-to-date results concerning the solution to the problem of plasma position and shape control in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) are presented. Attention is focused on the burn phase of the operation scenario, when the control objectives are particularly stringent. The aim is to control up to six distances (gaps) between the plasma separatrix and the plasma-facing components. The control algorithm is designed within a linear quadratic Gaussian optimal control framework. Linear and nonlinear simulations show the performance of the controller in the presence of plasma vertical position offsets, beta drops, and power supply voltage saturation.