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Division Spotlight
Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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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Latest News
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.
Mario Dalle Donne, Ulrich Fischer, Marko Küchle
Nuclear Technology | Volume 71 | Number 1 | October 1985 | Pages 15-28
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT85-A33707
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A conceptual design of a helium-cooled blanket that satisfies the boundary conditions specified by the Next European Torus team is presented. The first wall is made of austenitic stainless steel with poloidally running helium cooling tubes and a 10-mm-thick steel erosion layer. The breeding material is lithium orthosilicate (Li4SiO4) with 60% 6Li enrichment and it is contained in the form of 2-mm pebbles in a bed together with 2-mm beryllium particles. Zirconium hydride is used in the back of the blanket to improve the tritium breeding. The main helium cooling system and the helium purge system for the tritium extraction are both at 80 bar, but they are completely separate for tritium-control reasons. An oxidizing atmosphere in the helium purge system ensures that the tritium losses from the plant are <10 Ci/day. The tritium inventory in the blanket is mainly due to tritium adsorption on the surface of the ceramic material. It is <1000 g, provided that the specific surface of the ceramic material is <0.25 m2/g. The rather leaky structure provided by the poloidally running breeder tubes is the main reason for the rather modest tritium breeding ratio. Improvement of the breeding ratio could be obtained by using a high melting point multiplier (beryllium or Zr5Pb3) in the first-wall region. This would also have the advantage of increasing the inlet helium temperature in the blanket region. The helium temperature resulting from the present design would allow a plant efficiency comparable to that of a pressurized water reactor. A higher plant efficiency would require the use of a more advanced structural material than austenitic stainless steel.
