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
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
I. N. Sviatoslavsky, E. A. Mogahed, P. L. Cousseau, R. L. Engelstad, H. Y. Khater, G. L. Kulcinski, J. J. MacFarlane, R. R. Peterson, M. E. Sawan, P. Wang
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1299-1303
Power Plant Design and Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963127
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
LIBRA-SP is a 1000 MWe light ion beam driven inertial confinement fusion power reactor design study which utilizes a self-pinched mode for propagating ions to the target. It is driven by 7.2 MJ of 30 MeV Li ions of which 1.2 MJ is in prepulse and 6 MJ in the main pulse. There are 24 ion beams in a three tier geometry of 8 beams each. The chamber is an upright cylinder with a LiPb pool in the bottom and a flared extended roof. The blanket zone consists of solid ferritic steel tubes at a 50% packing fraction containing LiPb breeding material. The LiPb empties into the bottom pool and then flows through heat exchangers in the base of the reactor. The two front rows of tubes are called PERIT units (PErforated RIgid Tubes) and are at a distance of 4 m from the target. The front row has nozzles on its sides which spray vertical fans of liquid completely shadowing the tubes with a thin layer of liquid lithium lead and protecting them from x-rays and target debris. The deposition of the x-rays and debris ions in the liquid layer causes an explosive expansion which blows a small amount of vapor into the middle of the chamber, drives a shock through the liquid spray, and accelerates the bulk of the spray toward the PERITS. A computer code BUCKY1 is used to study these phenomena. The PERIT units, which are divided into upper and lower halves, each 5.3 m long, receive a 71 Pa-s impulse at 3.9 Hz rep-rate, have a maximum displacement of 0.8 cm and reach a maximum bending stress of 13 MPa. Beam tubes which guide the beams in the self-pinched mode are curved to avoid neutron streaming to the diodes and to avoid making contact with the PERIT units. A method for supporting these beam tubes and remotely aligning them on target will be discussed.