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
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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
Mar 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2024
Latest News
Lightbridge announces first U-Zr fuel rod samples extruded at INL
Lightbridge Corporation announced today that it has reached “a critical milestone” in the development of its extruded solid fuel technology. Coupon samples using an alloy of zirconium and depleted uranium—not the high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) that Lightbridge plans to use to manufacture its fuel for the commercial market—were extruded at Idaho National Laboratory’s Materials and Fuels Complex.
W. R. Meier, W. J. Hogan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 49 | Number 3 | April 2006 | Pages 532-541
Technical Paper | Fast Ignition | doi.org/10.13182/FST06-A1165
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Using a simple inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant economic model, it is demonstrated that there are several potential advantages of an IFE power plant based upon fast ignition targets compared with one based upon central ignition targets. The fast ignition version can have a lower cost of electricity (COE) at the same output power, and a smaller fast ignition plant can have the same COE as a larger central ignition plant. This paper also considers the chamber issues raised by using fast ignition targets. Some direct-drive chamber concepts must be larger for cone-focus fast ignition targets because of the increase in the X-ray output. On the other hand, the use of fast ignition hohlraum targets may allow the use of thick-liquid-wall chambers, bringing the benefits of a smaller chamber and containment building, smaller amounts of hazardous waste, and a faster and cheaper development path. However, many technology issues need resolution before these benefits can become a reality.