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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
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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Latest News
El Salvador: Looking to nuclear
In 2022, El Salvador’s leadership decided to expand its modest, mostly hydro- and geothermal-based electricity system, which is supported by expensive imported natural gas and diesel generation. They chose to use advanced nuclear reactors, preferably fueled by thorium-based fuels, to power their civilian efforts. The choice of thorium was made to inform the world that the reactor program was for civilian purposes only, and so they chose a fuel that was plentiful, easy to source and work with, and not a proliferation risk.
Kosuke Aizawa, Kaoru Fujita, Shingo Hirata, Naoto Kasahara
Nuclear Technology | Volume 183 | Number 1 | July 2013 | Pages 1-12
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A16988
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A conceptual design study of Japan Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR) is in progress in the Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development (FaCT) project in Japan. In the design of JSFR, a selector valve mechanism is adopted for its failed-fuel detection and location (FFDL) system. Since JSFR has only two FFDL units for [approximately]600 fuel subassemblies due to its compact design of the reactor vessel, one FFDL unit must handle a much larger number of subassemblies than in previous designs. In addition, during the long plant life of 60 years, the wear length of the selector valve will become longer than those of past reactors. Therefore, the endurance of the selector valve becomes important. To demonstrate the manufacturability and endurance of the selector valve, a full-size mockup valve including coating to protect the sliding mechanism was manufactured, and an endurance experiment of the mockup model under high-temperature sodium was conducted. Dimensional inspections and seal performance showed manufacturability of the selector valve. The cross-section observation, hardness measurement, and chemical assay results after the endurance experiment showed that the coating layer on the sliding surface still remains. Thus, the endurance of the JSFR selector valve was demonstrated.