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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
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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May 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Technical Session
Wednesday, May 11, 2022|4:00–6:00PM EDT|Orchid
Session Chair:
Kelsa B. Palomares (AMA)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Dayna Ise (NASA)
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Development of Multilayered Coatings for NERVA-Type Graphite Fuel Elements -- An Overview
S. V. Raj (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Paper
High Temperature Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Cermet Fuel for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP)
James Mudd (Missouri Univ. Science and Technology), Jeremy Watts (Missouri Univ. Science and Technology), Jhonathan Rosales (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center), Ryan Wilkerson (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center), Brian Taylor (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center), Gregory Hilmas (Missouri Univ. Science and Technology), Joseph Graham (Missouri Univ. Science and Technology)
Zirconium Carbide Circular Prismatic Core Geometries by Spark Plasma Sintering -- An Empirical Perspective
Caen Ang (USNC-Tech), Tom Hinklin (USNC-Core), Brandon Connor (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Cameron Hilliard (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Sarah Yue (USNC-Tech), Tim Ironman (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Ethan Chaleff (USNC-Tech), Gavin Garside (USNC-Core)
A System Design Process for NASA NTP Reactor Testing Reference Design Concepts
J. Gustafson (BWX Technologies), J. Monito (BWX Technologies), J. Witter (BWX Technologies)
Modeling of System Response to Faulted Operation of Nuclear Thermal Rocket Engine
Jordan D. Rader (ORNL)
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