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Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
Standards Program
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Alfredo Portone, Raffaele Albanese, Yuri V. Gribov, Michel Huguet, David H. Humphreys, Charles E. Kessel, Pier Luigi Mondino, L. Donald Pearlstein, John C. Wesley
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 32 | Number 3 | November 1997 | Pages 374-389
Technical Paper | Plasma Control Issues for Tokamaks | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A2
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The methodology and the up-to-date results concerning the solution to the problem of plasma position and shape control in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) are presented. Attention is focused on the burn phase of the operation scenario, when the control objectives are particularly stringent. The aim is to control up to six distances (gaps) between the plasma separatrix and the plasma-facing components. The control algorithm is designed within a linear quadratic Gaussian optimal control framework. Linear and nonlinear simulations show the performance of the controller in the presence of plasma vertical position offsets, beta drops, and power supply voltage saturation.