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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
H. H. Toudeshki, F. Najmabadi, X. R. Wang, ARIES Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 64 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 675-679
Test Blanket, Fuel Cycle, and Breeding | Proceedings of the Twentieth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE-2012) (Part 2) Nashville, Tennessee, August 27-31, 2012 | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-550
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As a part of ARIES-ACT research, we have been performing a detailed re-examination of requirements and design of vacuum vessels for fusion power plants. This paper discusses structural analysis performed in support of this examination. We have performed parametric 3-dimensional finite element analyses of ARIES-ACT-type vacuum vessels. The vacuum vessel structure is subjected to different types of loads such as atmospheric pressure, weight of the vessel itself and off-normal loads such as over-pressurization due to a leak in fusion core components, electromagnetic forces from disruptions, etc. Ribbed structure is considered in order to minimize the thickness of the vacuum vessel as well as to cool the system. We will discuss our results including structural response to various loads and trade-offs among structural design choices.