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
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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.
Yukimoto Maeda, Takafumi Aoyama, Toshihiro Odo, Satoru Nakai, Soju Suzuki
Nuclear Technology | Volume 150 | Number 1 | April 2005 | Pages 16-36
Technical Paper | Sodium Technology | doi.org/10.13182/NT05-A3602
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The experimental fast reactor JOYO at the O-arai Engineering Center of the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute is the first liquid sodium fast reactor in Japan. The purpose of constructing JOYO was to obtain technical information about liquid-metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs) through experience with their design, construction, and operation and to use the reactor as a fast neutron irradiation facility for the development of fuels, materials, and other components required for the LMFBR program. Through design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance experience, JOYO has contributed much to the LMFBR development program. In addition to providing operating experience, many kinds of irradiation tests have been conducted for the development of fuels and materials under the conditions of higher fast neutron flux and temperature than those in light water reactors. JOYO has been operated successfully for a quarter-century without any serious problem, and this operation demonstrated the safety and reliability of the sodium-cooled fast reactor.The reactor has just been upgraded to the MK-III core to increase irradiation capability for playing a greater role in providing an irradiation field as a fast reactor. Given the worldwide trend of fast reactor shutdowns, JOYO is an increasingly valuable world resource for current and future reactor development.