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
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
H. W. Kugel, M. Ulrickson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 2 | Number 4 | October 1982 | Pages 712-722
Technical Paper | First-Wall Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST82-A20810
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The inner wall protective plates for the Poloidal Divertor Experiment Tokamak are designed to absorb 8 MW of neutral deuterium beam power at maximum power densities of 3 kW/cm2 for pulse lengths of 0.5 s. Preliminary studies indicate that the design could survive several pulses of 1-s duration. The design consists of a tile and mounting plate structure. The mounting plates are water cooled to allow short duty cycles and beam calorimetry. The temperature and flow of the coolant are measured to obtain the injected power. A thermocouple array on the tiles provides beam position and power density profiles. Several material combinations for the tiles were subjected to thermal tests using both electron and neutral beams, and titanium-carbide-coated graphite was selected as the tile material. The heat transfer coefficient of the tile backing plate structure was measured to determine the maximum pulse rate allowable. The design of the armor system allows the structure to be used as a neutral beam power diagnostic and as an inner plasma limiter. The electrical and cooling systems external to the vacuum vessel are discussed.
