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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
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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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.
S. K. Combs, S. L. Milora, C. A. Foster, D. D. Schuresko, J. T. Hogan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 666-674
Plasma Heating, Impurity Control, and Fueling | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22936
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Pellet injectors that produce and accelerate frozen hydrogen isotope pellets are being developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for fueling of present and future plasma fusion devices. The development has focused primarily on two types of injectors: (1) gas guns, which utilize a pneumatic approach to accelerate pellets in a barrel with compressed helium or hydrogen propellant, and (2) centrifuge-type injectors, in which pellets are accelerated by centrifugal forces in a high-speed rotating track. In a single-pellet pneumatic injector, pellet speeds up to 1.4 km/s have been achieved. Three multipellet injection systems (ORNL four-pellet pneumatic design) are now functional, one each on the Poloidal Divertor Experiment (PDX), Alcator-C, and the Impurity Study Experiment (ISX-B). Currently, two repetitive devices (one of each injector type) are in operation to demonstrate steady-state fueling systems in the reactor-relevant parameter ranges of 1-km/s pellet velocity, variable pellet sizes up to 2 mm, and feed rates up to 10–40 pellets/s. The injector designs are described and operating characteristics discussed.