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
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.
D. B. Hayden, D. N. Ruzic
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 31 | Number 2 | March 1997 | Pages 128-134
Technical Paper | Divertor System | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A30815
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Monte Carlo code DEGAS was used to investigate the neutral atom and molecular interactions for a high-pressure (∼1-Torr) gaseous divertor in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Energy is removed from the plasma by radiation while the plasma pressure is balanced predominantly by a high neutral pressure at the end of the divertor. Plasma parameters were taken from the two-dimensional fluid code PLANET. Neutral sources from both ions recycling off the walls and recombination were included. The neutral density peak calculated with DEGAS of 3.43 ± 0.01 × 1022 m−3 occurred 4.5 cm from the divertor channel end. The ion and neutral atom energy fluxes were calculated to determine the heat load onto the divertor walls. A code was written to calculate the radiation distribution onto the side walls, not including any radiative absorption or reemission. The total energy flux peak (including ions, neutrals, and radiation) was 4.28 ± 0.30 MW/m2. This falls below the design criteria of 5 MW/m2. These results may help determine the wall material, heat removal, and the vacuum pumping requirements for the ITER divertor design and show the importance of a full treatment of neutral atoms and molecules in these regimes.