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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
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Eleanor G. Forbes, Uri Shumlak, Harry S. McLean, Brian A. Nelson, Elliot L. Claveau, Raymond P. Golingo, Drew P. Higginson, James M. Mitrani, Anton D. Stepanov, Kurt K. Tummel, Tobin R. Weber, Yue Zhang
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 75 | Number 7 | October 2019 | Pages 599-607
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2019.1622971
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The sheared-flow-stabilized (SFS) Z-pinch is a promising confinement concept for the development of a compact fusion reactor. The Z-pinch has been theoretically and experimentally shown to be stable to magnetohydrodynamic modes when sufficient radial shear of the axial flow is present. At the University of Washington, the Fusion Z-pinch Experiment (FuZE) research project examines scaling the SFS Z-pinch toward fusion conditions. The FuZE device produces long-duration, 50-cm-long pinches with measured ion and electron temperatures over 1 keV and number densities greater than cm. Plasma properties are measured with a diagnostic suite that includes magnetic field probes, heterodyne quadrature interferometry, digital holographic interferometry, ion-Doppler spectroscopy, and fast framing photography. Neutrons are produced in the FuZE device when deuterium is injected along with the normal hydrogen or helium fueling species. Neutron generation is diagnosed using plastic scintillator detectors. The neutron production is sustained for 5 to 8 μs, thousands of times longer than the static Z-pinch instability growth time. Measured neutron production is consistent with calculated theoretical values for thermonuclear yield at the observed plasma temperatures and scales with the square of the deuterium concentration. A preliminary reactor concept is designed to incorporate flowing liquid metal walls, which would serve as an electrode, a heat transfer fluid, a radiological shield, and a breeding blanket. Using a liquid metal wall could address several unresolved material and technology issues in existing fusion reactor designs.