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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
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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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
Alice Ying, Haibo Liu, Mohamed Abdou
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 64 | Number 2 | August 2013 | Pages 303-308
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/FST64-303
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Available data and mathematical formulations concerning tritium transport in the FW/Divertor with tungsten and beryllium as plasma facing materials were implemented in the commercial code COMSOL Multiphysics. The goal is to develop a CAD-based multiphysics modeling capability so that FW/Divertor temperature and geometric features can be readily taken into consideration while tritium permeation to the primary coolant in a prototypical PFC can be more realistically addressed. This development began with the simulation of ion implantation experiments, validated against existing laboratory experimental results. Analysis shows that with ITER FW where Be is used as the plasma facing material, the low operating temperature, erosion, and the dwell time greatly hinder tritium bulk diffusion, permeation, and inventory accumulation. However, under DEMO high-temperature operating conditions, tritium can quickly diffuse through tungsten to structural material and reach a steady state inventory after a relatively short time. Additionally, its permeation to the coolant can be reduced when the Soret effect is considered. The findings and challenges of developing a 3-D predictive capability for tritium transport in a FW/Divertor PFC are discussed.
