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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Second round of Launch Pad selections includes eight newcomers
The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory has announced 13 project selections across 12 companies for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a Department of Energy–led program that integrates reactor and fuel facility authorization, testing, and deployment support for private nuclear developers.
The Launch Pad emerged from the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.
According to INL, projects selected include reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment, and conversion technologies.
Hitesh Patel, Nirmal Panda, Nitin Kanoongo, K. Balasubramanian, M. J. Singh, Arun Chakraborty
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 4 | May 2021 | Pages 298-309
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1898856
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
High heat flux components form the primary interface for thermal management of injectors in fusion devices. The requirement for such application varies from 1 to 10 MW/m2. Ultra-high-vacuum compatibility is the inherent characteristic of such components, and manufacturing processes involve the development of specific materials, process qualification of special processes like electron beam welding (EBW), and component performance validation. One such component of active thermal management in a neutral beam injector is the hypervapatron-based heat transfer element (HTE), which is designed to absorb heat flux as high as 10 MW/m2. The route to realization is through a prototype and a one-to-one model and evaluating their performance. The development route of HTEs includes several important areas. One area is development of precipitation-hardened CuCrZr material characterized for its fatigue life (more than 100 000 stress-controlled cycles); mechanical properties at ambient temperature [ultimate tensile strength (UTS) >384 MPa, elongation >13%] and at operational temperature, i.e., 350°C (UTS >263 MPa, elongation >14%); and restricted chemical composition range of Cr, Zr, Cd, and O2 to enhance the precipitation effect and weldability of the component. A second area is similar material (CuCrZr to CuCrZr) and dissimilar material (CuCrZr-Ni-SS316L) joining by an advanced technology like EBW in a controlled environment to enhance the localized high heat input over a large weld penetration depth with minimal distortion and thereby overcome the effect of thermal diffusion by typical copper during welding. A third area is validation of these weld joints with respect to international codes/standards. Successful realization of this route establishes HTEs as main baseline components of the high heat flux system or neutral beam system. Similar application areas can be identified in various fusion devices. The paper presents the implementation of this realization route of prototype HTEs including details of the assessment carried out with respect to application.