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
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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.
Raffaele Albanese, Giuseppe Ambrosino, Enzo Coccorese, Francesco Carlo Morabito, Alfredo Pironti, Guglielmo Rubinacci, Stefano Scala
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 2 | November 1996 | Pages 167-183
Technical Paper | Special Section: Plasma Control Issues for Tokamaks / Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A30749
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A linear model for feedback control of the plasma position and shape in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is discussed. A model of the poloidal field (PF) system and of the disturbances is first derived. The main task of the control system is to avoid any contact of the hot plasma with the wall during the long duration of the burn phase. For this purpose, the control variables are specified as six gaps between the plasma separatrix and the first wall, including divertor channels. The structure model includes PF coils, vacuum vessel, first wall, backplate, and divertor fins, and it refers to the TAC-4 outline design ITER geometry. A multivariable controller is designed using the optimal linear quadratic approach. The simulation of the closed-loop system shows how the plasma shape is recovered: Step gap variations of 15 cm and poloidal beta drops of 0.2 are considered as disturbances. The performance parameters are voltages and currents in the PF coils and gap recovery time; voltage saturation of the actuators is also taken into account.