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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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Fusion Science and Technology
May 2025
Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
P. K. Mioduszewski, L. W. Owen, D. A. Spong, M. E. Fenstermacher, A. E. Koniges, T. D. Rognlien, M. V. Umansky, A. Grossman, H. W. Kugel
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 51 | Number 2 | February 2007 | Pages 238-260
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1302
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Plasma boundary control in stellarators has been shown to be very effective in improving plasma performance and, accordingly, is an important element from the very beginning of the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) design. Studies of the magnetic field topology outside the last closed magnetic surface (LCMS) indicate the possibility of many toroidal revolutions of field lines launched within a couple of centimeters of the LCMS. Field line connection lengths, typically in the order of 100 m, should be sufficient to allow for the necessary separation of divertor and separatrix temperatures. In the top and bottom of the bean-shaped cross section (toroidal angle = 0), a field expansion of >5 is observed, which will help to spread out the heat flux on limiters and divertor plates. Plasma-facing components (PFCs) will be developed systematically according to our respective understanding of the NCSX boundary; the phased PFC development will start out with a set of limiters and has the eventual goal to develop a divertor with all the benefits of impurity and neutrals control. Neutrals calculations have been started to investigate the effect of neutrals penetration at various plasma cross sections, especially at the location of = 0 deg. Advanced wall conditioning techniques, as employed in other major fusion devices, will be incorporated in the NCSX operation.