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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!
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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.
P.I. Petersen, DIII-D Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 39 | Number 2 | March 2001 | Pages 305-314
Fusion Technology Plenary | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A11963253
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An advanced tokamak is characterized by increased confinement, stability and steady state operation. The increased confinement and stability are obtained through modifications to the shape and profiles of the plasma and through stability feedback control. These modifications have to be self-consistent. The increased confinement makes it possible to make smaller and thereby lower cost reactors for the same power output as compared to conventional tokamaks. Four potential modes for advanced tokamaks are currently being studied on DIII-D: radiative improved mode, high internal inductance ℓi mode, negative central shear (NCS) mode, and quiescent double barrier (QDB) mode.
High-density plasma are important for reactors and recent experiments in DIII–D have shown that it is possible to operate substantially above the Greenwald limit. Control of the internal transport barriers that are responsible for the increased confinement have been improved in counter injected neutral beam plasmas. One of the limiting instabilities for the performance of high bootstrap fraction negative central shear plasmas is the resistive wall mode. These modes have to a certain degree been suppressed in DIII–D by using the six-section correction coil. With a newly installed upper inner divertor in DIII–D it has been possible to obtain improved density and impurity control. An upgrade of the electron cyclotron system is being done on DIII–D. Three 1 MW gyrotrons are being added. This system has been used to completely suppress the neoclassical tearing mode by applying electron cyclotron current drive at definite positions and in very localized areas. Finally, the implication of the recent findings for fusion reactors will be discussed.
