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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.
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International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
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Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Nermin A. Uckan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 3 | May 1992 | Pages 1444-1448
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29924
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The ranges of confinement-relevant (dimensional and dimensionless) plasma parameters for major tokamaks (JET, JT-60U, TFTR, DIII-D, …) that are expected to contribute to the ITER Physics R&D in the 1990s have been analyzed to characterize confinement and plasma performance in ITER-like designs. We find that the largest tokamaks (JET, JT-60U) should be able to demonstrate H-mode operation (with ELMs, as in ITER) with nτETi values within an order of magnitude of those required in ITER and have relevant dimensionless plasma parameters (ρ/a, ν*, etc.) within a factor 2 of those in ITER. Extrapolations from dimensionally similar discharges in DIII-D and JET show high-Q/ignition operation in ITER-like plasmas at plasma currents (∼16 MA) well below the nominal (22-MA) design value. Another critical issue for achieving ignition-level plasma performance is the anomalous alpha particle effects, mainly the “toroidal Alfvén eigenmode” (TAE mode). The D-T experiments in TFTR and JET (and simulations using fast beam ions) should realize alpha particle (fast-ion) parameters roughly similar, in relation to TAE mode thresholds, to those projected for ITER. We judge that present-day tokamaks will provide a sufficient database (by the mid-1990s) on H-mode confinement (with ELMs) and possible anomalous alpha particle effects at relevant dimensionless parameters that are expected to be adequate for ITER purposes.
