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
Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
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
Feb 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
A. V. Arzhannikov, V. T. Astrelin, A. V. Burdakov, I. A. Ivanov, V. S. Koidan, S. A. Kuznetsov, V. V. Konyukhov, A. G. Makarov, K. I. Mekler, V. S. Nikolaev, S. A. Novozhilov, S. S. Perin, S. V. Polosatkin, V. V. Postupaev, A. F. Rovenskikh, A. V. Savchkov, S. L. Sinitsky
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 39 | Number 1 | January 2001 | Pages 17-24
Invited Review Lectures | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A11963410
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Progress in experiments towards increasing of confinement time of dense plasma in long open trap GOL-3-II is presented.1 This facility is an open trap with total length of magnetic system of 17 m. The main part of the facility is 12-meter-long solenoid with 4.7 T in homogeneous part and 9 T field in mirrors. The plasma heating is provided by a high-power electron beam with the total energy content of up to 200 kJ. The former phase of the GOL-3-II activity was completed with the achievement of high efficiency of collective relaxation of the beam in the plasma. Electron temperature of the plasma is up to 2-3 keV at 1015 cm−3 density. Energy confinement time is mainly determined by longitudinal thermal conductivity. The main aim of the recent activity on the GOL-3-II facility is to research the possibility of improvement of confinement of the dense plasma after its heating.
The GOL-3-II facility was essentially modified for this purpose. The 12-meter plasma column was separated from entrance solid electrode and an exit beam receiver by vacuum sections and expanders for decreasing of the longitudinal electron thermal conductivity. In addition, the magnetic field on a part of solenoid was transformed into multimirror (corrugated) configuration with the ratio Hmax/Hmin ~1.5 and 22 cm cell length. The problem of macroscopically stable transportation of the beam through the whole system was solved by creation of an artificial return current.
As a result of the experiments at modified facility the energy confinement time for the plasma with density of 5·1014÷2·1015 cm−3 range and with sub-keV temperature is increased at an order of magnitude.
