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Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
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International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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!
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Latest News
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.
E.M. Drobyshevski, B.G. Zhukov, R.O. Kurakin, V.A. Sakharov, A.M. Studenkov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 26 | Number 3 | November 1994 | Pages 649-653
Plasma Fueling and Fuel Cycle | Proceedings of the Eleventh Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy New Orleans, Louisiana June 19-23, 1994 | doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A40230
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Small body launching that uses gas or plasma faces the fundamental problem caused by excess energy loss that is due to the great wall surface/volume ratio of the barrel. For example, the efficiency of the plasma armature (PA) rail-gun acceleration is maximum for 8–10 mm-size bodies and drops as their size decreases.1 That is why in the case of nuclear fusion applications, where 1–2 mm-size pellets at 5–10 km/s velocity are desirable, electromagnetic launchers have not yet demonstrated an advantage over light-gas guns and one is now forced to search for a compromise between the pellet size (increasing it up to #3–4 mm) and its velocity (decreasing it down to ≈3 km/s).. As a whole, the probability of attaining 5–10 km/s velocity for 1–2 mm pellets seems to be rather remote at the present. When designing the 1 mm railgun that exploits the PA, we made use of our concept of dielectric pellet launching at the greatest constant acceleration, which is close to the strength or the electrode skin-layer explosion limits.2 That shortened the barrel length sufficiently. The system become highly compact, with the electrode length ≈10–16 cm, thus permitting the rapid test of new operation modes as well as modifications of the design, including magnetic field augmentation and the use of a compacted PA.3 As a result of these refinements, the difficulties caused by the catastrophic supply of mass ablated from the electrodes were overcome and regimes of 1–2 mm plastic pellets without sabot accelerated to 5 km/s were found. No pre-accelerator is used. The launcher operates in air at atmospheric conditions. The potentials and prospects of the small system created are far from being exhausted and deserve further elaboration.