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Division Spotlight
Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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!
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Christmas Night
Twas the night before Christmas when all through the houseNo electrons were flowing through even my mouse.
All devices were plugged in by the chimney with careWith the hope that St. Nikola Tesla would share.
Marco Riva, Christian Di Sanzo, Mohamed Abdou, Mahmoud Youssef
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 72 | Number 3 | October 2017 | Pages 469-477
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1333853
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Breeding blankets with integrated first wall are one of the most critical components of nuclear fusion reactors. Blankets breeding zones are characterized by steep nuclear heating gradients due to the exothermic nuclear reaction 6Li(n, )T and the high intensity neutron flux in the proximity of the first wall. Non-uniformity in nuclear heating can generate sharp temperature gradients that deeply affect material properties. This conceptual study explores an original way to flatten nuclear heating profiles by proposing a blanket characterized by layers of different 6Li enrichment in the breeder region while maximizing Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) and power generation. Two types of fusion blanket are studied: (1) Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector (HCCR) and (2) Dual Coolant Lead Lithium (DCLL). For HCCR, it is found in the optimal design case, that the power peak-to-average can be reduced by 47.85%, 42.45% and 54.13% in the front, middle and back channel respectively when compared to the reference design. On the other side, we found that this method of profile flattening is not appealing for DCLL, under the geometrical configuration and material selection in this particular blanket design, since most of nuclear heating is caused by photon heat deposition.