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Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Nathan Clark Reid, Lauren Garrison, Maxim Gussev, Jean Paul Allain
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 7 | November 2021 | Pages 907-914
Student Paper Competition Selection | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1925032
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Candidate tungsten armor materials in a magnetic confinement fusion device must be able to withstand thermal variation that leads to internal stresses caused by the impinging heat load. In addition, the thermomechanical properties of these materials are degraded by irradiation-induced defect accumulation. Fission reactor–based irradiation data are used to predict the fusion neutron damage and property change. This study examines the motivation and design of a custom-designed three-point bend test for neutron-irradiated disk specimens that are 3 mm in diameter to be able to define the flexural strength of advanced tungsten materials, alloys, and composites—and to the extent that embrittlement occurs after neutron irradiation. The theory provided shows a calculation for the flexural deflection and shear deflection due to the small-geometry constraints. A finite element deformation analysis is performed to evaluate the mechanical stress field of disk bend specimens. The stress values above 80% of the maximum stress are concentrated in 2.4 mm of the 3.0-mm length of the centerline across the tungsten disk diameter. A bend test fixture has been designed and fabricated to enable testing of these specimens with precisely engineered tolerance and minimal machine compliance. This fixture will be able to be placed inside a universal testing frame at elevated temperatures for the mechanical property evaluation of future neutron-irradiated disk specimens.