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
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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.
Neil B. Morley, Mark S. Tillack, Mohamed A. Abdou
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 1765-1771
Impurity Control and Plasma-Facing Component | Proceedings of the Ninth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Oak Brook, Illinois, October 7-11, 1990) | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29598
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In an effort to prolong the lifetime of impurity control components, the idea of protecting the contact surface from erosion and radiation damage with a thin film of liquid metal has been advanced. This flowing, liquid metal film could also be used to remove the high heat fluxes incident on limiter or divertor surfaces, thus eliminating problems with thermal stresses in the components as well. In order to determine the attractiveness and feasibility of such a concept, the heat transfer characteristics of a thin film of liquid metal are examined when the film is exposed to a large, one-sided heat flux incident on the free surface. The method developed yields the temperature at any location in the film and is used to determine, for a given design and space-dependant heat flux, the film velocity required to keep the maximum film temperature below whatever Tmax limit is imposed. In addition, the behavior of the film flow at the required velocity is examined in order to determine if such a flow is possible. This analysis is accomplished by using a one-dimensional model of the film height, developed from the basic set of MHD equations, to show the design conditions that allow for a stable film. The analytical method is applied to ITER-type limiter and divertor configurations, resulting in required film velocities (v < 5 m/s for the cases examined) and allowable values of the design parameters (channel size, wall conductivity, and substrate angle) that yield a stable film, capable of removing all incident heat.