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
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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. A. Bourham, O. E. Hankins, J. G. Gilligan, J. D. Hurley, W. H. Eddy
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 3 | May 1992 | Pages 1852-1857
Plasma-Facing Component | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29988
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Heat fluences of 1–10 MJ/m2 and greater over 0.1–1 msec pulse durations are expected on the surfaces of plasma-facing components in large tokamaks during a plasma disruption. The formed vapor plasma (the boundary layer) absorbs a large fraction of the incident energy, and thus acts as a self protecting layer (vapor shield). Carbon materials (pyrolytic graphite and other graphite grades)) are used as plasma-facing components, and tungsten and refractory materials are potential candidates. The experimental test facility SIRENS has been used to expose carbon and tungsten materials to heat fluences between 0.2 and 6 MJ/m2 for 100 µs duration to characterize the performance of such materials under typical heat loading conditions.
