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.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
F. Bombarda, B. Coppi, F. Franza, Z. S. Hartwig, G. Ramogida, M. Zucchetti
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 95-100
Fusion | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13403
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fusion creates more neutrons per energy released than fission or spallation, therefore DT fusion facilities have the potential to become the most intense sources of neutrons for material testing. An Ignitor-like device, that is a compact, high field, high density machine could be envisaged for this purpose making full use of the intense neutron flux that it can generate, without reaching ignition. The main features of this High Field Neutron Source Facility, which would have about 50% more volume than Ignitor, are illustrated and the R&D required in order to achieve relevant dpa quantities in the tested materials are discussed, in particular the adoption of superconducting magnet coils. Radiation damage evaluations have been performed by means of the ACAB code, showing the potential of high field, neutron-rich devices for fusion material testing. Few full-power months of operation are sufficient to obtain significant radiation damage values (in terms of dpa) of large size samples (~m3). The setup of a duty cycle for the device in order to obtain such operation times is discussed. The problem of radiation damage to the insulator of the Toroidal Field Coils has been explored. Two strategies for mitigating damage to the TF coil insulators have been demonstrated, and it is likely that both will need to be implemented to ensure the survival of the insulating material for the lifetime of the tokamak.