ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Jan 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2026
Nuclear Technology
January 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
Canada’s General Fusion to become publicly traded company
General Fusion has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (SVAC) that would make General Fusion the first publicly traded pure-play fusion firm, the company announced on January 22. The business combination is projected to be completed in mid-2026.
Per F. Peterson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 144 | Number 3 | December 2003 | Pages 279-288
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT144-279
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Gas-turbine power conversion systems can have lower capital costs than comparable steam-turbine systems due to their higher power density. The recent commercialization of magnetic bearing systems for large turbomachinery now makes direct recuperated Brayton cycles the preferred power conversion choice for gas-cooled reactors. This paper presents a multiple-reheat closed gas cycle optimized to use energy input from liquid-metal or molten-salt coolants with temperatures as low as 550 to 650°C. By utilizing reheat, these molten coolant gas cycles (MCGCs) have the potential for substantially higher thermal efficiency than current gas-cooled reactors if used with comparable turbine inlet temperatures. The MCGC system also eliminates the need for steam generators, which removes the potential for chemical reactions between the molten coolant and steam, and greatly simplifies the control of tritium for fusion energy systems.