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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, D. Henderson, L. Waganer, R. Raffray, ARIES Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 44 | Number 2 | September 2003 | Pages 405-409
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Tritium and Safety and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST03-A368
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Heavy ion beam driven inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants employ liquid wall materials to protect the structure against the energetic x-rays, ions, and debris emitted from the target following each shot. The objective of this assessment is to identify the radiological issues of the candidate liquid wall materials (Pb, LiPb, Sn, and Flibe) using the ARIES-IFE radiation chamber environment. The issues to be addressed include the radioactivity level and liquid waste minimization for waste management. Specifically, the liquids are evaluated with regard to the Class C limitation for waste disposal, a top-level requirement for all ARIES power plant designs. Two extreme cases were analyzed; the worst case is separation of the liquid wall material (highest radiation exposure) and the breeder (lowest radiation exposure), and the best case is the mixing of the two liquid streams. Both tangential and porous wall injection schemes were examined. Pb and LiPb are more radioactive than Sn and Flibe. For the liquid breeder system, the porous wall injection scheme with mixed liquid flows results in the lowest waste disposal rating and smallest waste stream achieved in our study.