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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver 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
ANS designates Armour Research Foundation Reactor as Nuclear Historic Landmark
The American Nuclear Society presented the Illinois Institute of Technology with a plaque last week to officially designate the Armour Research Foundation Reactor a Nuclear Historic Landmark, following the Society’s decision to confer the status onto the reactor in September 2024.
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.
