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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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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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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. C. Laffite, D. C. Wilson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 49 | Number 4 | May 2006 | Pages 558-564
Technical Paper | Target Fabrication | doi.org/10.13182/FST06-A1168
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Filling an ignition capsule through a drilled hole in the ablator is the current approach to fielding an ignition capsule. But it adds an initial defect to the capsule which might grow large enough to affect or even prevent ignition. We present here calculations of the effects of fill tubes and holes for the 1.4 MJ 300 eV BeCu NIF capsule. The code used is the 3D AMR code written by Los Alamos and SAIC, "RAGE". Several fill tube/hole sizes were tried. Most calculations were made in a planar 2D geometry, providing reliable information on the first part of the implosion before convergence effects become important. A 5 m diameter hole generates a 25 by 30 m jet when the main shock breaks out into the DT gas. The mass involved in the jet is insignificant, less than 1/1000 of the hot spot mass. There is no large difference between the jets formed by a plug and a fill tube, before they break out into DT gas. High resolution spherical calculations are still in progress to understand the end of the implosion. Experiments are planned as a support to this study.