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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.
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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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.
G. S. Brunson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 10 | Number 1 | January 1971 | Pages 33-43
Technical Paper and Note | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT71-A30945
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As part of the defective-cladding detection program at Experimental Breeder Reactor II, the Reactor Cover Gas Monitor was installed to provide on-line monitoring for noble gas fission products in the argon cover gas which fills the reactor vessel above the sodium coolant. With a 2- × 2-in. sodium iodide scintillator as the detector, it has been possible to identify 133Xe, 85mKr, and 135Xe, which are always present in low concentrations due to an irreducible background fission source in the reactor. This apparently straightforward monitoring project turned out to be much complicated by the presence of relatively large concentrations of 23Ne [from the reaction 23Na(n, p)23Ne on the sodium coolant]. The 23Ne diffuses from the sodium to the cover gas at a rate which is exceedingly sensitive to the bulk sodium temperature. Small temperature changes can produce large changes in the 23Ne concentration. The Compton continuum from 23Ne is counted in the channels adjusted for the fission product gases, causing large and alarming surges in the indicated concentrations. While this effect is not yet understood, it has been alleviated by “aging” the sample stream in a delay line to permit additional decay of the 38-sec 23Ne. After the delay line was installed, it was possible to monitor 135Xe very effectively; 133Xe and 85mKr still could not be monitored clearly because of the interference from the Compton continua of higher energy gamma lines, principally that of 135Xe.
