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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.
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2027 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
October 31–November 4, 2027
Washington, DC|The Westin Washington, DC 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!
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November 2024
Latest News
Siting of Canadian repository gets support of tribal nation
Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) announced that Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation has indicated its willingness to support moving forward to the next phase of the site selection process to host a deep geological repository for Canada’s spent nuclear fuel.
H. Xu, H. Huang, J. Walker, C. Kong, N. G. Rice, M. P. Mauldin, J. D. Vocke, J. H. Bae, W. Sweet, F. H. Elsner, M. P. Farrell, Y. M. Wang, C. Alford, T. Cardenas, E. Loomis
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 73 | Number 3 | April 2018 | Pages 354-362
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1387459
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Double-shell inertial confinement fusion targets represent a unique platform for achieving ignition. They consist of a low-Z outer ablator, a high-Z inner pusher layer, and a low-density foam layer sandwiched in between. There is the possibility that double-shell targets may achieve ignition at lower ion temperatures due to the containment of radiation and conduction losses as well as requiring smaller convergence ratios. We have explored using magnetron sputtering to make the inner high-Z pusher layers and have demonstrated a W-Cr bilayer inner-shell design. An Al-Be mixture was explored as one of the outer ablator materials. This material takes advantage of Al X-ray M-band absorption to reduce preheating and still retain Be high-ablation speeds. Typical commercial Al-Be materials suffer from phase separation. However, by using magnetron sputtering we have been able to demonstrate homogeneous Al-Be ablator coatings. The sputtered material forms with nanosized grains and has demonstrated excellent machinability. As a second type of shell explored, pushered single shells can exploit large density gradients to stabilize Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities during compression. Sharp gradients will have higher ignition yields and larger grading lengths will be more stable. We were able to demonstrate pushered single shells made from W-Be gradient layers with various grading slopes and provide simulated results showing that the grading profiles can be influenced by the coating rates of two components.