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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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
November 2025
Latest News
What’s the most difficult question you’ve been asked as a maintenance instructor?
Blye Widmar
"Where are the prints?!"
This was the final question in an onslaught of verbal feedback, comments, and critiques I received from my students back in 2019. I had two years of instructor experience and was teaching a class that had been meticulously rehearsed in preparation for an accreditation visit. I knew the training material well and transferred that knowledge effectively enough for all the students to pass the class. As we wrapped up, I asked the students how they felt about my first big system-level class, and they did not hold back.
“Why was the exam from memory when we don’t work from memory in the plant?” “Why didn’t we refer to the vendor documents?” “Why didn’t we practice more on the mock-up?” And so on.
Hong Ran, Binbin Song, Jilai Hou, Dangshen Zhang, Yuncong Huang, Le Tang, Qinwei Yang, Zen Cao, Xiaoqiang Wu
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 7 | November 2021 | Pages 549-556
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1884490
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The HL-2M tokamak is an upgraded device of the HL-2A tokamak. As one of the main components of the HL-2M, the vacuum vessel (VV) is required to have a reliable structure and be manufactured with well-established methods. The HL-2M VV is designed with a D-shaped cross section, double-thin-wall structure that consists of the inner shell, outer shell, ribs, and ports. The whole torus is welded with 20 sectors. Inconel 625 has been selected as the main material of the VV because of its good mechanical properties and high resistivity. The structural analysis is performed using ANSYS. The results show that the VV can meet the design requirements. The manufacturing process of the VV is described in detail. The VV was completed in March 2019, and the HL-2M device achieved its first plasma discharge in December 2020.
