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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.
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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
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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!
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
Dennis Mueller, Michael G. Bell, Eric Fredrickson, Alan C. Janos, Forrest C. Jobes, Larry C. Johnson, E. John Lawson, Robert Marsala, David Kingston Owens, Hyeon Park, Alan T. Ramsey, Thomas Senko, Hironori Takahashi, Gary Taylor, King-Lap Wong
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 2 | November 1996 | Pages 251-257
Technical Paper | Special Section: Plasma Control Issues for Tokamaks / Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A30754
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Disruptions on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), especially those occurring at high stored energy, result in lost experimental run time because many discharges are required to regain wall conditions necessary for good plasma performance. A variety of disruption types have been observed on TFTR. These include density-limit disruptions, those caused by a high influx of impurities, those occurring during the current ramp-down, those resulting from locked modes, and those occurring at high normalized β(βN = βTaBT/Ip). A combination of operational experience and limiter development has helped to avoid many potential disruptions. However, the experimental goal of high fusion power production engenders the risk of high-βN disruptions. A system to limit βN by reducing the neutral beam power as a preprogrammed βN limit is reached is now in use to help avoid high-βN disruptions. Operational issues of disruption avoidance, the βN feedback system, the limitations and possible improvements of the system are discussed.