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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Fusion Science and Technology
November 2024
Latest News
Radiant secures funding, moves toward microreactor testing in INL’s DOME
Radiant Industries has announced a $100 million Series C funding round to be used primarily to complete its Kaleidos Development Unit (KDU) microreactor for testing in Idaho National Laboratory's Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) facility within two years.
Nathan Nicholas, Bryce Shaffer
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 76 | Number 3 | April 2020 | Pages 366-372
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2020.1712988
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Over the past decade, Air Squared has been actively developing and improving the highly anticipated 15 m3/h tritium vacuum pump to replace the obsolete industry standard Normetex scroll pump. The all-metal pump features a metal bellows that hermetically seals all tritium gas from any material other than metal. Air Squared has listened to the tritium market’s needs and is currently developing the latest addition to the Air Squared tritium vacuum pump line: the 150 m3/h liquid cooled all-metal (LCAM) scroll vacuum pump. Through numerous hours of testing, Air Squared has demonstrated the advantages of LCAM scroll vacuum pumps. The effect that thermal expansion has on highly toleranced all-metal pumps has been observed and characterized to predict pump performance as well as provide safe operational temperature limits. Performance characteristics of the 15 m3/h pump have been analyzed with different process gases to understand the effects of pumping light gases. Vacuum pumping speed curves have been generated at various interstage pressures to understand the advantages that roughing pump systems have when used in series with all-metal scroll vacuum pumps. This paper presents Air Squared’s 15 m3/h designs and highlights the performance characteristics. The effects that pump temperature, process gas, and fore-vacuum have on all-metal scroll vacuum pumps are explained with empirical data collected over a decade of research. With the knowledge and data collected, Air Squared has a pathway for a new industry standard 15 m3/h and 150 m3/h positive displacement scroll pump for tritium service to support international nuclear fusion and tritium research.