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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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Fukiushima Daiichi: 10 years on
The Fukushima Daiichi site before the accident. All images are provided courtesy of TEPCO unless noted otherwise.
It was a rather normal day back on March 11, 2011, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant before 2:45 p.m. That was the time when the Great Tohoku Earthquake struck, followed by a massive tsunami that caused three reactor meltdowns and forever changed the nuclear power industry in Japan and worldwide. Now, 10 years later, much has been learned and done to improve nuclear safety, and despite many challenges, significant progress is being made to decontaminate and defuel the extensively damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactor site. This is a summary of what happened, progress to date, current situation, and the outlook for the future there.
Lester M. Waganer, Richard J. Peipert, Jr., Xueren R. Wang, Siegfried Malang, ARIES Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 54 | Number 3 | October 2008 | Pages 787-817
Technical Paper | Aries-Cs Special Issue | dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1904
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The goal of the ARIES compact stellarator is to define and assess a stellarator-based fusion power plant to provide electrical power as competitively as possible by balancing performance, cost, and plant availability. The traditional stellarator concepts are as compact as possible to reduce the plant capital costs, which are driven by the power core volume, weight, and cost. Different coil configurations are defined and assessed, trading plasma performance, power core design, access between the coils, and overall capital cost. Maintenance options are assessed and the port maintenance of first-wall/blanket and divertor modules is selected as the most feasible approach. Maintenance access is very important because the plasma-facing components have a limited lifetime. The available port access areas between the coils determine the maximum module envelope. With the maintenance approach selected, the frequency of maintenance determined, and module size defined, features of the maintenance approach are developed to maximize the power plant availability. After the preliminary maintenance approach, details for the power core components and facilities are finalized and a maintenance assessment is developed by analyzing the nominal times to conduct the maintenance actions. It is estimated that the ARIES-CS plant availability could reasonably be in the range of 85%.
