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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?
F. Castejón, J. M. Reynolds, J. M. Fontdecaba, R. Balbín, J. Guasp, D. López-Bruna, I. Campos, L. A. Fernández, D. Fernández-Fraile, V. Martín-Mayor, A. Tarancón
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 50 | Number 3 | October 2006 | Pages 412-418
Technical Paper | Stellarators | doi.org/10.13182/FST06-A1263
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
It was observed previously that the ion temperature profile of low-density electron cyclotron resonance-heated TJ-II plasmas is almost flat and that energetic ions are present well outside the last closed magnetic surface. The heat diffusivity obtained for such ion temperature profiles is very high, and therefore, transport cannot be described by Fick's law. In this work, ion trajectories with different pitches and starting points have been calculated for the relevant magnetic configuration. It is found that a feasible explanation for such a flat mean energy profile is that ion orbits are wide enough to communicate distant parts of the plasma radius, thus giving an effective flat ion temperature profile, for these low-density (<1019-m-3) plasmas. The distribution function is also obtained without considering collisions; thus, non-Maxwellian features are found. The final particle density shows inhomogeneities on a magnetic surface.