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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
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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February 2025
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Latest News
Reboot: Nuclear needs a success . . . anywhere
The media have gleefully resurrected the language of a past nuclear renaissance. Beyond the hype and PR, many people in the nuclear community are taking a more measured view of conditions that could lead to new construction: data center demand, the proliferation of new reactor designs and start-ups, and the sudden ascendance of nuclear energy as the power source everyone wants—or wants to talk about.
Once built, large nuclear reactors can provide clean power for at least 80 years—outlasting 10 to 20 presidential administrations. Smaller reactors can provide heat and power outputs tailored to an end user’s needs. With all the new attention, are we any closer to getting past persistent supply chain and workforce issues and building these new plants? And what will the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president mean for nuclear?
As usual, there are more questions than answers, and most come down to money. Several developers are engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or have already applied for a license, certification, or permit. But designs without paying customers won’t get built. So where are the customers, and what will it take for them to commit?
Gary S. Was, Lawrence M. Lidsky
Nuclear Technology | Volume 43 | Number 3 | May 1979 | Pages 289-300
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A19218
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A purging process was developed that will permit operation of fusion reactor blankets employing solid LiAlO2 as the breeder material at fuel temperatures of <600°C. The low fuel temperature would greatly reduce the problems of fuel sintering, densification, and volume expansion that occur at fuel temperatures in excess of 900°C without degrading the plant thermal efficiency. The process consists of heating the blanket to a specified temperature for a given time at regular intervals to release tritium held up in the breeding material As an example, a detailed purging cycle was developed for the breeder rod shim rod blanket that uses LiAlO2 in the form of micron-size particles compacted into millimetre-size pellets and is designed for low-temperature operation. Tritium inventory, doubling time, purging time, purging temperature, purging frequency, and particle size are the parameters used to evaluate the process. Calculations indicate that breeder particle sizes ranging from 20 to 50 μm and purging temperatures ranging from 600 to 700°C can result in purge times of <1 h with three or more weeks between purges, and a doubling time of 7 yr for a blanket inventory limit of 5 kg and a breeding ratio of <1.02.