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Division Spotlight
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.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
ARPA-E announces $40 million to develop transmutation technologies for UNF
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) announced $40 million in funding to develop cutting-edge technologies to enable the transmutation of used nuclear fuel into less-radioactive substances. According to ARPA-E, the new initiative addresses one of the agency’s core goals as outlined by Congress: to provide transformative solutions to improve the management, cleanup, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
Matthew Quinn, David Orozco, Kurt Boehm, Brian Sammuli, Wendi Sweet
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 79 | Number 7 | October 2023 | Pages 791-800
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2204201
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The success of inertial confinement fusion experiments hinges on the production of perfectly round spherical capsules placed at the center of an implosion. Some of the most common ablator materials are grown on poly(alpha-methylstyrene) (PAMS) mandrels. Human operator–based optical inspection of individual PAMS mandrels followed by a selection decision, is a labor-intensive process that suffers from operator dependence. General Atomics has developed a robotic system to handle and image these delicate PAMS mandrels and has implemented an autonomous method for evaluating shell quality. The selection criteria of acceptable mandrels has been standardized by employing visual defect characterization tools and associated machine learning algorithms. This work discusses the mechanical upgrades made to the robot cell for handling shells, the suite of software tools developed for a more complete evaluation of individual shells, and correlating defect statistics from entire batches to production data from the PAMS fabrication process parameters.