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
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.
Adrian C. Smith, Jr., Gustav A. Carlson, William S. Neef, Jr., Clinton P. Ashworth, Kenneth E. Abreu, Hans H. Fleischmann, Kenneth R. Schultz, Clement P. C. Wong, Dilip K. Bhadra, R. Lewis Creedon, Edward T. Cheng, George R. Hopkins, William Grossmann, Jr., David M. Woodall, Terry Kammash
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 9 | Number 1 | January 1986 | Pages 136-170
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24708
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A design of a prototype moving-ring reactor was completed, and a development plan for a pilot reactor is outlined. The fusion fuel is confined in current-carrying rings of magnetically field-reversed plasma (“compact toroids”). The plasma rings, formed by a coaxial plasma gun, undergo adiabatic magnetic compression to ignition temperature while they are being injected into the reactor's burner section. The cylindrical burner chamber is divided into three “burn stations.” Separator coils and a slight axial guide field gradient are used to shuttle the ignited toroids rapidly from one burn station to the next, pausing for one-third of the total burn time at each station. Deuteriumthtium-3He ice pellets refuel the rings at a rate that maintains constant radiated power. The fusion power per ring is ∼105.5 MW. The burn time to reach a fusion energy gain of Q = 30 is 5.9 s. The fusion plasma rings are assumed to be of the field-reversed mirror type with some spheromak-like imbedded toroidal magnetic field. A magnetic/thermal energy ratio of one-third and an average 〈β〉 = 0.67 is presumed. Initial plasma ion (electron) temperatures are assumed to be 75 (50) keV, with an initial (final) plasma average radius of 39 (57) cm. The ion energy confinement is assumed to be classical and the electron energy confinement is one-tenth that of the ions. The rings are assumed to be tilt stabilized with ∼20% of the ring current carried by “fast,” axis-encircling particles. The first-wall and tritium breeding blanket designs make credible use of helium-cooling, silicon carbide, and Li2O to minimize structural radioactivity. “Hands-on” maintenance is possible on all reactor components outside the blanket. The first wall and blanket are designed to shut the reactor down passively in the event of a loss-of-coolant or a loss-of-flow accident. Helium removes heat from the first wall, blanket, and shield and is used in a closed-cycle gas turbine to produce electricity. Energy residing in the plasma ring at the end of the burn is recovered via magnetic expansion. Electrostatic direct conversion is not used in this design. The reactor produces a constant net power of 99 MW(electric).