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Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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2021 Student Conference
April 8–10, 2021
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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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NC State celebrates 70 years of nuclear engineering education
An early picture of the research reactor building on the North Carolina State University campus. The Department of Nuclear Engineering is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its nuclear engineering curriculum in 2020–2021. Photo: North Carolina State University
The Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University has spent the 2020–2021 academic year celebrating the 70th anniversary of its becoming the first U.S. university to establish a nuclear engineering curriculum. It started in 1950, when Clifford Beck, then of Oak Ridge, Tenn., obtained support from NC State’s dean of engineering, Harold Lampe, to build the nation’s first university nuclear reactor and, in conjunction, establish an educational curriculum dedicated to nuclear engineering.
The department, host to the 2021 ANS Virtual Student Conference, scheduled for April 8–10, now features 23 tenure/tenure-track faculty and three research faculty members. “What a journey for the first nuclear engineering curriculum in the nation,” said Kostadin Ivanov, professor and department head.
B. Smith, P. Wilson, M. Sawan, T. Bohm
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 1 | July 2009 | Pages 57-62
ITER | Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 1) | dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A8876
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Radiation shielding, thermal protection, and energy removal for ITER are provided by an array of firstwall/shield modules (FWS). Nuclear analysis of the shield modules is important for understanding their performance and lifetime in the system. Using Direct Accelerated Geometry (DAG)-MCNPX, a coupling of traditional MCNPX with the Common Geometry Module (CGM) and the Mesh Oriented dAtaBase (MOAB) developed at UW, high-fidelity 3-D neutronics analysis is now possible. Particles are transported in the CAD geometry reducing analysis time, eliminating input error, and preserving geometric detail. The surface source read-write capability that exists in MCNPX has been used in DAG-MCNPX to combine realistic source conditions with an efficient analysis model. A surface source was written using a 3-D model of ITER with a detailed plasma source. The surface source was then used in a detailed 3-D CAD model of Module 13.3-D high fidelity mesh tallies were used to calculate nuclear heating used in thermal-hydraulics analysis. Surface source results were compared against results using a hybrid 1-D/3-D approach in which a uniform neutron source is extended infinitely in the vertical direction. Results show that the hybrid source overestimated the total number and under estimated the average energy of particles incident on the FW. The hybrid approach was found to overestimate the nuclear heating at the front of the first wall by as much as 63%.
