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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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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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.
M. Velarde, L. A. Sedano, J. M. Perlado
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 54 | Number 1 | July 2008 | Pages 122-126
Technical Paper | Blanket Design | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1778
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Tritium will be responsible for a large fraction of the environmental impact of the first generation of DT fusion reactors. Today, the efforts of conceptual development of the tritium cycle for DEMO are mainly centred in the so called Inner Breeding Tritium Cycle, conceived as guarantee of reactor fuel self-sufficiency. The EU Fusion Programme develops for the short term of fusion power technology two breeding blanket conceptual designs both helium cooled. One uses Li-ceramic material (HCPB, Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed) and the other a liquid metal eutectic alloy (Pb15.7Li) (HCLL, Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead). Both are Li-6 enriched materials. At a proper scale designs will be tested as Test Blanket Modules in ITER. The tritium cycles linked to both blanket concepts are similar, with some different characteristics. The tritium is recovered from the He purge gas in the case of HCPB, and directly from the breeding alloy through a carrier gas in HCLL.For a 3GWth self-sufficient fusion reactor the tritium breeding need is few hundred grams of tritium per day. Safety and environmental impact are today the top priority design criteria. Dose impact limits should determine the key margins and parameters in its conception. Today, transfer from the cycle to the environment is conservatively assumed to be operating in a 1-enclosure scheme through the tritium plant power conversion system (intermediate heat exchangers and helium blowers). Tritium loss is caused by HT and T2 permeation and simultaneous primary coolant leakage through steam generators. Primary coolant chemistry appears to be the most natural way to control tritium permeation from the breeder into primary coolant and from primary coolant through SG by H2 tritium flux isotopic swamping or steel (EUROFER/INCOLOY) oxidation.A primary coolant chemistry optimization is proposed. Dynamic flow process diagrams of tritium fluxes are developed ad-hoc and coupled with tritiated effluents dose impact evaluations. Dose assessments are obtained from the use of appropriate numeric tools (NORMTRI).