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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
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Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
J.-L. Duchateau, M. Coatanea, B. Lacroix, S. Nicollet, D. Ciazynski, P. Bayetti
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 64 | Number 4 | November 2013 | Pages 705-710
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A24089
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The quench of one of the ITER magnet systems is an irreversible transition of the conductor from superconducting to normal resistive state. The normal zone propagates along the cable-in-conduit conductor, dissipating a large power. The detection has to be fast enough (1 to 2 s) to initiate the dumping of the magnetic energy and avoid irreversible damage of the systems.The experience of CEA is based on the operation of the superconducting tokamak Tore Supra for more than 20 years. In support of ITER, CEA was also very involved in quench detection investigations during these past 3 years.The primary quench detection in ITER is based on voltage detection, the most rapid detection. The very magnetically disturbed environment during a plasma scenario makes the voltage detection particularly difficult, inducing large inductive components across the pulsed coils (10 kV) or coil subcomponents. Voltage compensations therefore have to be designed to discriminate the resistive voltage associated with the quench.A secondary detection based on a thermohydraulic signals system also has to be investigated to protect the environment in case of a nondetected quench, especially for the largest ITER system, which is the toroidal field system with a stored energy of 40 GJ.