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
Feb 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
January 2026
Latest News
Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
G. M. Fuller, J. R. Haines, V. D. Lee, F. W. Wiffen, Y. Gohar
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 1095-1100
Blanket and First Wall Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A23004
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The first wall of the tokamak FED-A device was designed to satisfy two conflicting requirements. They are a low electrical resistance to give a long eddy-current decay time and a high neutron transparency to give a favorable tritium breeding ratio. The tradeoff between these conflicting requirements resulted in a copper alloy first wall that satisfied the specific goals for FED-A, i.e., a minimum eddy-current decay time of 0.5 sec and a tritium breeding ratio of at least 1.2. Aluminum alloys come close to meeting the requirements and would also probably work. Stainless steel will not work in this application because shells thin enough to satisfy temperature and stress limits are not thick enough to give a long eddy-current decay time and to avoid disruption induced melting. The baseline first wall design is a rib-stiffened, double-wall construction. The total wall thickness is 1.5 em, including a water coolant thickness of 0.5 em. The first wall is divided into twelve 30-degree sectors. Flange rings at the ends of each sector are bolted together to form the torus. Structural support is provided at the top center of each sector.