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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2025)
May 4–8, 2025
Huntsville, AL|Huntsville Marriott and the Space & Rocket Center
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
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The State of Nuclear: The industry today
American Nuclear Society Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy recently hosted the most recent installment of “The State of Nuclear,” the Society’s periodic webinar series that explores current events with an eye toward their impact on the future of nuclear technology and professionals.
M. L. Spaeth, P. J. Wegner, T. I. Suratwala, M. C. Nostrand, J. D. Bude, A. D. Conder, J. A. Folta, J. E. Heebner, L. M. Kegelmeyer, B. J. MacGowan, D. C. Mason, M. J. Matthews, P. K. Whitman
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 69 | Number 1 | January-February 2016 | Pages 265-294
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-119
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) houses the world’s largest laser system, composed of 192 individual, 40-cm-aperture beamlines. The NIF laser routinely operates at ultraviolet (UV) fluences above 8 J/cm2, more than twice the (3ω only) damage threshold of commercially available UV-grade fused silica. NIF is able to maintain such high fluence operation by using an optics recycling loop strategy. Successful operation of the loop relies on a number of technologies specifically developed for NIF. One of the most important is the capability developed by LLNL and their vendors for producing highly damage-resistant optics. Other technologies developed for the optics recycle loop raise the operating point of NIF by keeping damage growth in check. LLNL has demonstrated the capability to sustain UV fused silica optic recycling rates of up to 40 optics per week. The optics are ready for reinstallation after a 3-week trip through a recycle loop where the damage state of each optic is assessed and repaired. The impact of the optics recycle loop has been profound, allowing the experimental program to routinely employ energies and fluences that would otherwise have been unachievable. Without the recycle loop, it is likely that the NIF fluence would need to be kept below the UV threshold for damage growth, ~4 J/cm2, thus keeping the energy delivered to the target significantly below 1 MJ. With the recycle loop implemented during the National Ignition Campaign, NIF can routinely deliver >1.8 MJ on target, an increase in operational capability of more than 100%. In this review, the enabling technological advances, optical performance, and operational capability implications of the optics recycle loop are discussed.