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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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
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.
B. Pégourié, Tore Supra Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 3 | October 2009 | Pages 1334-1352
Technical Papers | Tore Supra Special Issue | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A9181
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fuel retention in carbon plasma-facing components (PFCs) is such a major concern for next-step operation that it could prevent the use of this material in the D-T phase of ITER. Because of its complete set of actively cooled PFCs, Tore Supra offers a unique opportunity to study this phenomenon in conditions where the plasma exposure time is much longer than the thermal equilibration time of the PFCs. In addition to the main characteristics of permanent retention measured during long-discharge operation, this paper discusses the different mechanisms possibly at work in the continuous increase of the in-vessel inventory and describes the morphology and physical properties of the deposits found at several locations in the vacuum chamber. The main results are (1) that D retention mainly depends on the lower hybrid power coupled to the plasma and, to a lesser extent, on the edge temperature and fueling method, (2) that permanent D retention is mainly due to codeposition, and (3) that the hydrogenated carbon deposits present at the surface of the different PFCs are strongly disorganized graphite carbons when they are exposed to high heat fluxes, whose formation occurs through a heterogeneous growth involving both codeposition of nanoparticles and basic structural unit vapor condensates.