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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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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
IAEA again raises global nuclear power projections
Noting recent momentum behind nuclear power, the International Atomic Energy Agency has revised up its projections for the expansion of nuclear power, estimating that global nuclear operational capacity will more than double by 2050—reaching 2.6 times the 2024 level—with small modular reactors expected to play a pivotal role in this high-case scenario.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi announced the new projections, contained in the annual report Energy, Electricity, and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050 at the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna.
In the report’s high-case scenario, nuclear electrical generating capacity is projected to increase to from 377 GW at the end of 2024 to 992 GW by 2050. In a low-case scenario, capacity rises 50 percent, compared with 2024, to 561 GW. SMRs are projected to account for 24 percent of the new capacity added in the high case and for 5 percent in the low case.
Yansong Liu, Tao Wang, Guo Chen, Jun Xie, Qi Wang, Zhibing He
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 79 | Number 6 | August 2023 | Pages 641-650
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2175599
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, high-density carbon (HDC) is being evaluated as an alternative to the current point-design ablator material (glow discharge plasma) due to its high density and optimal opacity, which leads to a higher energy efficiency and implosion stability. Chemical vapor deposition–coated HDC capsules have a near-perfect surface figure but a microscopically rough surface, so polishing is needed to achieve the required nanometer surface finish. Herein, HDC capsule polishing is investigated with modified four-cup-type polishing technology. The surface morphology, microstructures, and wall thicknesses of the polished capsules were examined by multiple techniques, such as an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray radiography, and so on. The results show that the HDC capsules can be polished to a surface roughness less than 15 nm and a wall thickness nonuniformity of about 0.5 μm. The Raman spectra indicated that four-cup polishing had no obvious influence on the original surface crystallinity and phase composition of the HDC capsules. The crystallographic of the HDC capsules with different four-cup polishing times had no deterioration. This work plays an important role for the application of HDC capsules in ICF research.