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
Jan 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
From Capitol Hill: Nuclear is back, critical for America’s energy future
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy convened its first hearing of the year, “American Energy Dominance: Dawn of the New Nuclear Era,” on January 7, where lawmakers and industry leaders discussed how nuclear energy can help meet surging electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence, data centers, advanced manufacturing, and national security needs.
A. Rene Raffray, Myron A. Hoffman, Thomas Gaskins
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 1577-1582
Fusion Economic | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24957
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A detailed cost study of the ESPRESSO blanket concept for the Tandem Mirror Fusion Reactor has been performed to complement the thermal-hydraulic parametric study of Reference 1. A computer code was developed to size the magnet, blanket and piping components and to evaluate the central cell contribution to the cost of electricity. The two most promising solid breeder/neutron multiplier configurations were studied: natural lithium oxide as the breeder with no multiplier (Case I), and 30% enriched gamma-lithium aluminate as the breeder with beryllium as the multiplier (Case IV). A design window was obtained for each case based on maximum material temperatures and spacing constraints. The minimum cost designs for Case I and Case IV correspond to 31 and 41 mills/kW-hr for the central cell contribution to the cost of electricity, and to optimum neutron wall loadings of 2.3 and 3.4 MW/m2, respectively.