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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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
College students help develop waste-measuring device at Hanford
A partnership between Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) and Washington State University has resulted in the development of a device to measure radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Hanford Site. WRPS is the contractor at Hanford for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
P. Massee, L. H. Th. Rietjens, A. J. D. Lambert
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 17 | Number 3 | May 1990 | Pages 439-451
Technical Paper | Energy Conversion | doi.org/10.13182/FST90-A29219
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The in situ magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) concept is a new proposal to convert the power of a nuclear fusion tokamak reactor into electricity. To determine the feasibility of this concept, quasi-one-dimensional calculations of MHD generators with a mercury-cesium medium are performed. The question of whether the electron cyclotron radiation emitted by the fusion plasma can be absorbed by the medium in the MHD generator so as to be able to work with enhanced nonequilibrium ionization is studied. It is concluded that this cannot be realized in practice. To obtain reasonably compact MHD generators, the stagnation pressure at the inlet of the generator should be rather low (< 1.8 bars). Under these circumstances, however, the absorption length that is needed for the generator medium to absorb the cyclotron radiation is excessively large. It is concluded that an enthalpy extraction of 35% per generator leads to a cycle efficiency of only 16.7%. To convert 35% of the fusion power into electricity, the enthalpy extraction of each generator should be increased to ∼70%. This is not considered to be realistic in view of the enthalpy extractions obtained experimentally in seeded noble gas MHD generators at a stagnation temperature of ∼2000 K.