ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
Michael W. Cappiello, Paul W. Lisowski
Nuclear Technology | Volume 132 | Number 1 | October 2000 | Pages 115-127
Technical Paper | Accelerator Applications | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3133
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Accelerator Production of Tritium Target/Blanket (T/B) system is comprised of an assembly of tritium-producing modules supported by safety, heat removal, shielding, and retargeting systems. The T/B assembly produces tritium using a high-energy proton beam, a tungsten/lead spallation neutron source and 3He gas as the tritium-producing feedstock. The supporting heat removal systems remove the heat deposited by the proton beam during both normal and off-normal conditions. The shielding protects workers from ionizing radiation, and the retargeting systems remove and replace components that have reached their end of life. All systems reside within the T/B building, which is located at the end of a linear accelerator. For the nominal production mode, protons are accelerated to an energy of 1030 MeV at a current of 100 mA and are directed onto the T/B assembly. The protons are expanded to a 0.19- × 1.9-m beam spot before striking a centrally located tungsten neutron source. A surrounding lead blanket produces additional neutrons from scattered high-energy particles. A total of 27 neutrons are produced per incident proton. Tritium is produced by neutron capture in 3He gas that is contained in aluminum tubes throughout the blanket. The 3He/tritium mixture is removed on a semi-continuous basis for purification in an adjacent Tritium Separation Facility. Systems and components are designed with safety as a primary consideration to minimize risk to the workers and the public. Materials and component designs were chosen based on the experiences of operating spallation neutron sources that have been designed and built for the neutron science community. An extensive engineering development and demonstration program provides detailed information for the completion of the design.
