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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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Nuclear Technology
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February 2025
Latest News
Investment bill would provide funding options for energy projects
Coons
Moran
The bipartisan Financing Our Futures Act, which expands certain financing tools to all types of energy resources and infrastructure projects, was reintroduced to the U.S. Senate on February 20 by Sens. Jerry Moran (R., Kan.) and Chris Coons (D., Del.).
Via amendment to the Internal Revenue Code, the legislation would allow advanced nuclear energy projects to form as master limited partnerships (MLPs), a tax structure currently available only to traditional energy projects.
An MLP is a business structure that is taxed as a partnership but the ownership interests of which are traded like corporate stock on a market. Until the Internal Revenue Code is amended, MLPs will continue to be available only to investors in energy portfolios for oil, natural gas, coal extraction, and pipeline projects that derive at least 90 percent of their income from these sources. This change would take effect on January 1, 2026.
Halil I. Avci, Gerald L. Kulcinski
Nuclear Technology | Volume 44 | Number 3 | August 1979 | Pages 333-345
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32270
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The placement of liquid metals (lithium, lead, and a Pb-Li eutectic Pb4Li) between the first wall and the source of neutrons has been considered as a mechanism for extending first wall lifetimes in inertial confinement fusion reactors. This scheme is called the Internal Spectral Shifter and Energy Converter (ISSEC). All three liquid metals have been shown to reduce the radiation damage in the Type 316 stainless-steel structural first wall and thus increase the first wall lifetime. On a per-unit thickness basis, a Pb4Li ISSEC is most effective, followed by lead and lithium in decreasing order. If the first wall is operating at 300°C, it is estimated that ∼50 cm of liquid lithium or liquid lead, or ∼40 cm of liquid Pb4Li zone will give enough protection to the Type 316 stainless-steel first structural wall so that it may last for 30 yr at a nominal 5 MW/m2 wall loading and 70% plant factor. If the wall is operating at 500°C, ∼85 cm of lithium, 50 cm of lead, or 40 cm of Pb4Li is needed, and at 600°C the required ISSEC thickness goes up to ∼2 m for lithium, ∼70 cm for lead, and 65 cm for Pb4Li. The lead and Pb4Li ISSECs increase the total energy multiplication in the reactor, while the lithium ISSEC keeps it about constant. It has been shown that the liquid ISSECs could produce in the first wall a primary knock-on atom spectrum, as well as a gas production to displacement damage ratio, close to that found in fast or thermal fission test reactors, thus allowing more confidence in applying data from current systems to future fusion devices. An overall conclusion of the study is that the Pb-Li eutectic ISSEC has better characteristics than both pure lead and lithium ISSECs, and for best results it should be used at thicknesses ranging from 45 to 65 cm.
