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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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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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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High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Valerii Palkin, Eugene Maslyukov
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 9 | September 2022 | Pages 1091-1100
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2045146
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The paper offers a double-cascade scheme for reducing the concentration of 232, 234, 236U isotopes in reprocessed uranium hexafluoride. The greatest decrease of the ratio between the masses of 236U and 235U is provided in the product of the first ordinary cascade enriched by 235U at the concentration of less than 20%. For this purpose, a special mode of stages operation is determined. Enrichment by 232, 234U is performed in the second ordinary cascade, which is fed by the product of the first cascade. After being purified from 232, 234U, the waste flow is diluted till the concentration of 235U is less than 5%. This paper describes the methodology for calculating the parameters of cascades with the stage separation factors correlating with gas centrifuges. This methodology served as a basis for a computational experiment. It is demonstrated that the output gained after the dilution meets the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials C996-20 specification for the commercial grade of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride in terms of 232, 234U isotopes. The content of 236U in it is several times less than during the direct enrichment of reprocessed uranium hexafluoride.
