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NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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Fusion Science and Technology
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Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
S. Cirant, J. Berrino, P. Buratti, G. D'Antona, F. Gandini, G. Granucci, E. Iannone, E. Lazzaro, V. Mellera, V. Muzzini, P. Smeulders, O. Tudisco
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 53 | Number 1 | January 2008 | Pages 174-183
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Electron Cyclotron Wave Physics, Technology, and Applications - Part 2 | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1663
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The paper describes experimental studies performed on the FTU tokamak on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities and their active control by electron cyclotron (EC) heating and EC current drive (ECH/ECCD). It deals in particular with implementing of an automatic system that detects both the onset and localization of tearing modes and the localization of the EC power deposition and that is capable of actuating the stabilizing reaction with ECH/ECCD. The system is composed of a digital signal processor-based control unit to analyze electron temperature fluctuations (mostly from EC emission) and Mirnov coil data and to control gyrotron power supplies. The action is provided by an arrangement of four Gaussian beams at 140 GHz, coupling up to 1.6 MW power in total. The detection/reaction system, successfully tested in the experiments described, is very fast since no mirror motion is foreseen. In fact, the Gaussian beams are preliminarily oriented in an array covering the whole region where the mode is expected, and only the one closest to the mode is switched on at its appearance. The measurement of the deposition layer dep is performed by analyzing the transient response to modulated EC power. Different modulation waveforms are used, both periodic and pseudorandom, in order to select the most sensitive and fastest technique.
