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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
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The newest era of workforce development at ANS
As most attendees of this year’s ANS Annual Conference left breakfast in the Grand Ballroom of the Chicago Downtown Marriott to sit in on presentations covering everything from career pathways in fusion to recently digitized archival nuclear films, 40 of them made their way to the hotel’s fifth floor to take part in the second offering of Nuclear 101, a newly designed certification course that seeks to give professionals who are in or adjacent to the industry an in-depth understanding of the essentials of nuclear energy and engineering from some of the field’s leading experts.
Saber Azam, Anil Kumar
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 17 | Number 3 | May 1990 | Pages 452-465
Technical Paper | Blanket Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST90-A29220
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The objective of the LOTUS experimental program, started in 1983, is to perform various integral neutronics measurements like neutron spectrometry, activation, and tritium breeding ratio (TBR) on fusion reactor blanket concepts. The first blanket concept studied at the LOTUS facility was the fission-suppressed type. Investigations of pure fusion blanket concepts constitute a logical continuation of this program. The new LOTUS fusion blanket concept employs a eutectic of lithium and lead, for example, 17L-83Pb, and lithium-metal as tritum breeders. The blanket consists of a first wall of low-activation ferritic steel, followed by zones of 17Li-83Pb, 6Li, and a reflector made of graphite or silicon carbide (SiC). The choice of structural material for each zone is based on its compatibility with the primary zonal component. Vanadium alloy (V-15 Cr-5 Ti), low-activation ferritic steel (Fe-11 Cr-2.5 W-0.3 V-0.15 C), and the same vanadium alloy were retained for 17Li-83Pb, 6Li, and graphite or SiC zones, respectively. One-dimensional ANISN calculations have been carried out for the optimization of the blanket dimensions. The main criteria for the optimization calculations are a TBR >1.1 and a compact blanket. An experimental module composed of lead and lithium pellets is proposed to simulate various eutectic compositions. Natural lithium, clad in aluminum, is used due to economic considerations. There are some important differences in the experimental module with respect to the optimized concept, which are mainly related to the location of the 14-MeV neutron source outside the blanket. Foil activation, TBR measurements using novel and conventional techniques, and spectrum measurements employing mini NE-213 and, possibly, NE-230 form the bulk of the experimental program.
