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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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!
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Fusion Science and Technology
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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.
C.B. Reed, R.C. Haglund, M.E. Miller, J.R. Nasiatka, I.R. Kirillov, A.P. Ogorodnikov, G.V. Preslitski, G.P. Goloubovitch, Zeng Yu Xu
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1036-1041
Fusion Blanket and Shield Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963073
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Vanadium/Lithium system has been the recent focus of ANL's Blanket Technology Program, and for the last several years, ANL's Liquid Metal Blanket activities have been carried out in direct support of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) breeding blanket task area. A key feasibility issue for the ITER Vanadium/Lithium breeding blanket is the development of insulator coatings. Design calculations, Hua and Gohar,1 show that an electrically insulating layer is necessary to maintain an acceptably low magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop in the current ITER design. Consequently, the decision was made to convert Argonne's Liquid Metal Experiment (ALEX) from a 200°C NaK facility to a 350°C lithium facility. The upgraded facility was designed to produce MHD pressure drop data, test section voltage distributions, and heat transfer data for mid-scale test sections and blanket mockups at Hartmann numbers (M) and interaction parameters (N) in the range of 103 to 105 in lithium at 350°C.
Following completion of the upgrade work, a short performance test was conducted, followed by two longer, multiple-hour, MHD tests, all at 230°C. The modified ALEX facility performed up to expectations in the testing. MHD pressure drop and test section voltage distributions were collected at Hartmann numbers of 1000.
