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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.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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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A series of firsts delivers new Plant Vogtle units
Southern Nuclear was first when no one wanted to be.
The nuclear subsidiary of the century-old utility Southern Company, based in Atlanta, Ga., joined a pack of nuclear companies in the early 2000s—during what was then dubbed a “nuclear renaissance”—bullish on plans for new large nuclear facilities and adding thousands of new carbon-free megawatts to the grid.
In 2008, Southern Nuclear applied for a combined construction and operating license (COL), positioning the company to receive the first such license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2012. Also in 2008, Southern became the first U.S. company to sign an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a Generation III+ reactor. Southern chose Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor, which was certified by the NRC in December 2011.
Fast forward a dozen years—which saw dozens of setbacks and hundreds of successes—and Southern Nuclear and its stakeholders celebrated the completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4: the first new commercial nuclear power construction project completed in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
Milton Ash, Richard Bellman, Robert Kalaba
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 6 | Number 2 | August 1959 | Pages 152-156
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE59-A25646
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
After a high-flux thermal nuclear reactor is shut down, the concentration of fission product xenon may rise for many hours as a result of the decay of fission product iodine into Xe135. This results in reactor poisoning and may, with consequent loss of efficiency, postpone the time at which the reactor may be restarted. This poisoning may be minimized by carefully controlling the rate at which the neutron flux is decreased during the shut-down operation. The determination of optimal control in this situation leads to some nonclassical problems in the calculus of variations. The aim of this paper is to show how they can be treated by the functional equation technique of dynamic programming. The methods we present rely upon the use of high-speed digital computers with large memories. The method automatically produces a valuable parameter study and results in stable designs.
