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.
Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
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.
M. Ulrickson, G. Barnes, H.M. Fan, G. Labik, D. Loesser, L. Lontai, D.K. Owens
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 3 | May 1992 | Pages 1817-1822
Plasma-Facing Component | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29982
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Carbon fiber composite (CFC) materials have been used as the plasma facing surface on limiters in TFTR since 1989. We changed from all POCO graphite tiles on the inner bumper limiter (BL) to about 1/3 CFC tiles in the high heat flux area because of tile failures with heating powers up to 20 MW. The RF limiters (RFL), which were designed to protect the radio-frequency antennas from plasma heat flux, were designed with CFC material. This paper discusses the design issues related to the CFC materials, our experience with material property variations in large production runs, and our operational experience with CFC limiters. The replacement BL tiles were made from a 3D CFC material. The RFL tiles were made from a 2D CFC. The use of 2D CFC material was molded to near net shape. The tiles were required to withstand up to 105 cycles of 50 MW of heating power for a duration of 2 s. Determination of the minimum material properties was one of the major design issues. The fabrication of the BL tiles required production of about 35 large billets of 3D CFC material. The fabrication of the RFL tiles required production of about 160 tile blanks. We found substantial variation in the material properties of the finished parts. The distribution of the material property data is discussed. In the case of the RFL tiles some parts did not meet the required properties because of the non-standard nature of the fabrication. After nearly two years of operation on the CFC tiles, none of the CFC tiles have failed. The only damage observed on the CFC tiles is a slight darkening of the tile when it is heated to the sublimation point by the disruption heat loads. Recommendations of the best design and fabrication strategies for CFC plasma facing components are made.