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
May 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Proving DRACO will deliver
The United States is now closer than it has been in over five decades to launching the first nuclear thermal rocket into space, thanks to DRACO—the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Orbit.
Augusta Airoldi, Giovanna Cenacchi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 1 | January 1991 | Pages 78-85
Technical Paper | Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29317
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The influence of a few parameters on the possibility of reaching ignition in the Ignitor device is analyzed using a 1½-dimensional equilibrium transport code. The models adopted for electron and ion thermal diffusivities scale with the net power input to the plasma components. No auxiliary heating is considered besides that due to alpha particles. In the operative scenario examined, the plasma current (Ip = 10 MA) and the toroidal field (BT = 11.1 T) are maintained for 4 s. The importance of density profile shaping is pointed out together with the influence of current density peaking. Sensitivity to specified assumptions is also analyzed and the limit values, still guaranteeing ignition, for different parameters are determined.
