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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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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
J. Boscary et al.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 64 | Number 2 | August 2013 | Pages 263-268
Divertor and High-Heat-Flux Components | Proceedings of the Twentieth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE-2012) (Part 1), Nashville, Tennessee, August 27-31, 2012 | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-499
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The actively water-cooled plasma facing components (PFCs) of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator consisting of the first wall protection and the divertor systems have a total surface area of about 265m2. The complex 3D geometry of the plasma and plasma vessel with 244 vessel ports dedicated to diagnostics, heating systems and water-cooling pipe-work together with the need to minimize the space taken and the significant heat loads expected on the components presents significant design and manufacturing challenges.The actively water- cooled divertor, made of 100 target modules, has an area of 19 m2. Each target module is formed from target elements made of CFC flat tiles bonded with the bi-layer technology to CuCrZr heat sinks. In total 16,000 tiles are bonded to the 890 target elements. A full-scale target module prototype has been manufactured to validate the design, the selected technological solutions and the inspection methods to be used in the serial module fabrication.About 30% of the target elements have been delivered and the production of the remaining elements should be completed by 2014. The fabrication of the components of the first wall protection, 320 stainless steel panels and 170 heat shields, is almost completed.
