ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Second round of Launch Pad selections includes eight newcomers
The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory has announced 13 project selections across 12 companies for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a Department of Energy–led program that integrates reactor and fuel facility authorization, testing, and deployment support for private nuclear developers.
The Launch Pad emerged from the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.
According to INL, projects selected include reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment, and conversion technologies.
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.