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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
A. Serikov, U. Fischer, R. Heidinger, H. Tsige-Tamirat, Y. Luo
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 53 | Number 1 | January 2008 | Pages 184-195
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Electron Cyclotron Wave Physics, Technology, and Applications - Part 2 | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1664
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will use an electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system in the upper port of the device for plasma stabilization, heating, and current drive by injecting millimeter wave beams into the plasma chamber. The millimeter waves are transmitted to the plasma through long and narrow waveguide channels. The required plasma wall openings could result in enhanced neutron radiation loadings to the ECRH launcher and neighboring reactor components. The analyses aimed at proving that the shielding requirements and all related nuclear design limits specified by ITER can be met for the proposed ECRH launcher design concepts. The nuclear criteria included human safety issues, nuclear waste regulation aspects, and radiation shielding requirements. The proof was conducted by calculating the radiation loads to sensitive components such as the diamond window of the ECRH launcher, the vacuum vessel, and the superconducting magnets and assessing the potential radiation doses to work personnel during shutdown periods. Dedicated computational approaches were developed to handle the related neutron streaming and shielding problems on the basis of three-dimensional Monte Carlo calculations by the MCNP code. Suitable MCNP models of the launcher were generated by the automatic conversion of the underlying computer assisted design models using a newly developed interface program. The results of the analyses show that all radiation design limits can be safely met for the considered launcher and shield designs.