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Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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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!
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February 2024
Latest News
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
S. Masuzaki, N. Ashikawa, K. Nishimura, M. Tokitani, T. Hino, Y. Yamauchi, Y. Nobuta, N. Yoshida, M. Miyamoto, A. Sagara, N. Noda, H. Yamada, A. Komori, LHD Experiment Group
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 58 | Number 1 | July-August 2010 | Pages 297-304
Chapter 7. Plasmas-Wall Interactions | Special Issue on Large Helical Device (LHD) | doi.org/10.13182/FST10-A10816
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Wall conditioning in the Large Helical Device (LHD) has been conducted successively since the first experimental campaign in 1998. The effects of wall conditioning on the vacuum condition, the plasma performance, and the surface modification of the plasma-facing components have been analyzed by both macroscopic and microscopic observations such as residual gas analysis and transmission electron microscope observation, respectively. The main tools for the conditioning are mild baking (95°C); glow discharges with hydrogen, helium, and neon; and wall coating with titanium and boron. Though the baking temperature is lower than in other fusion devices, it reduces impurity gases well just after the start of vacuum pumping, and it reduces retained hydrogen in plasma-facing components during the experimental campaign. Helium glow discharge was revealed to cause heavy damage on the surfaces of metallic components and the contamination of the hydrogen discharges with helium released from wall. Neon glow discharge has been conducted since it causes much less damage and hastens the conditioning of the wall. Boronization is very effective to reduce oxygen impurity in plasma, and the effects last for the whole experimental campaign in LHD.