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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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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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Fukiushima Daiichi: 10 years on
The Fukushima Daiichi site before the accident. All images are provided courtesy of TEPCO unless noted otherwise.
It was a rather normal day back on March 11, 2011, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant before 2:45 p.m. That was the time when the Great Tohoku Earthquake struck, followed by a massive tsunami that caused three reactor meltdowns and forever changed the nuclear power industry in Japan and worldwide. Now, 10 years later, much has been learned and done to improve nuclear safety, and despite many challenges, significant progress is being made to decontaminate and defuel the extensively damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactor site. This is a summary of what happened, progress to date, current situation, and the outlook for the future there.
L. L. Lao, H. E. St. John, Q. Peng, J. R. Ferron, E. J. Strait, T. S. Taylor, W. H. Meyer, C. Zhang, K. I. You
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 2 | October 2005 | Pages 968-977
Technical Paper | DIII-D Tokamak - Achieving Reactor-Level Plasma Pressure | dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST48-968
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Physics elements and advances crucial for the development of axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium reconstruction to support plasma operation and data analysis in the DIII-D tokamak are reviewed. A response function formalism and a Picard linearization scheme are used to efficiently combine the equilibrium and the fitting iterations and search for the optimum solution vector. Algorithms to incorporate internal current and pressure profile measurements, topological constraints, and toroidal plasma rotation into the equilibrium reconstruction are described. Choice of basis functions and boundary conditions essential for accurate reconstruction of L- and H-mode equilibrium plasma boundary and current and pressure profiles is discussed. The computational structure used to efficiently integrate these elements into the equilibrium reconstruction code EFIT is summarized.