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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
Flamanville-3 reaches full power
France’s state-owned electric utility EDF has announced that Flamanville-3—the country’s first EPR—reached full nuclear thermal power for the first time, generating 1,669 megawatts of gross electrical power. This major milestone is significant in terms of both this project and France’s broader nuclear sector.
D. T. Goodin, N. B. Alexander, G. E. Besenbruch, L. C. Brown, A. Nobile, R. W. Petzoldt, W. S. Rickman, D. Schroen, B. Vermillion
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 44 | Number 2 | September 2003 | Pages 279-283
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Advanced Designs | doi.org/10.13182/FST03-A347
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The "Target Fabrication Facility" (TFF) of an IFE power plant must supply about 500,000 targets per day. The targets are injected into the target chamber at a rate of 5-10 Hz and tracked precisely so the driver beams can be directed to the target. The feasibility of developing successful fabrication and injection methodologies at the low cost required for energy production (about $0.25/target, about 104 less than current costs) is a critical issue for inertial fusion. To help identify major cost factors and technology development needs, we have utilized a classic chemical engineering approach to the TFF. The analyses assume an "nth-of-a-kind" TFF and utilize standard industrial engineering cost factors. The results indicate that the direct drive target can be produced for about $0.16 each. Iterations are still underway for the indirect drive target. These cost analyses assume that the process development is accomplished to allow scaling of current laboratory methods to larger sizes, while still meeting target specifications. A development program is underway at various laboratories to support this scale-up.