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
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has since been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that Unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. local time on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
R. Paul Drake, James H. Hammer, Charles W. Hartman, L. John Perkins, Dmitri D. Ryutov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 310-325
Technical Paper | Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A30734
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Adiabatic compression of a preformed closed field line configuration by an imploding liner is considered. Three configurations are discussed: the field-reversed configuration, the spheromak, and the Z-pinch. It is shown that by employing a two-dimensional compression, one can reach a breakeven condition with an energy input into the plasma as low as 100 kJ. Typical initial dimensions of the liner are length, 5 to 6 cm; radius, ∼1 cm; and wall thickness, ∼0.01 cm. Liner mass is in the range of a few grams. It is assumed that the initial plasma beta is of the order of unity; in this case, the final beta is much greater than 1, and the plasma is in a wall confinement regime. Typical plasma parameters for the final state (for the linear compression ratio equal to 10) are density, 1021 cm−3; temperature, 10 keV; and magnetic field, 107 G. A brief discussion of various phenomena affecting the wall confinement is presented (magnetic field diffusion, radiative losses, and impurity penetration); the conclusion is drawn that the heat losses to the walls are modest and are not a factor that limits plasma enhancement Q. It is shown that at least for relatively thin liners, whose compressibility can be neglected, what limits Q is a relatively short liner dwell time near the maximum compression point. The scaling law for the Q versus the input parameters of the system is derived, which shows a relatively weak dependence of Q on the input energy. Possible ways for increasing the dwell time are discussed. Reactor potentialities of the system are briefly described. It is emphasized that the possibility of performing crucial experiments on small- to medium-scale experimental devices may considerably shorten the development path for the system under consideration. Some nonfusion applications of the system described are mentioned. Among them are burning and transmutation of long-lived fusion products, medical isotope production, a pulsed source of hard X rays, and fusion neutrons.