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
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2025
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.
Marc A. Firestone, Jonathan W. Morrow-Jones, Tak Kuen Mau
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 32 | Number 3 | November 1997 | Pages 390-403
Technical Paper | Plasma Control Issues for Tokamaks | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A3
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Results for the first simulated comprehensive feedback control study for a tokamak operating in the fusion regime are presented. A standard Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX) design is the simulated reactor, but the results apply to any tokamak. Feedback gains are derived for specific classes of dynamic models and control objectives using model-based optimal control. An integrated control approach treats both kinetic and electromagnetic parameters and radial profiles. The control actuators include poloidal field coils, fast-wave and lower-hybrid current drive and heating sources, and pellet fuel injectors. Results show that the strongly coupled plasma parameters provide unintended secondary responses to controller inputs. In particular, attempts to modify the q-profile greatly affect the temperature and density profiles when the transport model incorporates International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) scaling. The hot, highly conductive plasma and poor source penetration in the nominal BPX discharge make the central q-values difficult to regulate. Fusion events also complicate the control efforts. Further, simple plasma circuit models are inadequate to account for a significantly evolving current profile. Proper understanding and use of integrated, model-based feedback control will avoid these pitfalls.