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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
June 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
DOE approves Xcimer’s laser fusion power plant design
The Department of Energy has approved Xcimer Energy's Athena fusion power plant preconceptual technical design. With this milestone achieved, the Denver, Colo.-based company is now moving forward with its plans to develop economical laser inertial confinement fusion using two beamlines, gas laser technology, and a molten salt fusion chamber.
The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory demonstrated net energy gain from inertial confinement fusion in 2022 using solid-state glass lasers and 192 beamlines.
Manuela Profir, Vincent Moreau
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 4 | April 2024 | Pages 565-578
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2175589
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The pool-type experimental facility CIRColazione Eutettico (CIRCE) has been built by ENEA in support to the development of liquid-metal fast reactors. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the new test section, called the Thermal-hydraulic HElical Tubes Innovative System or THETIS, is being built, and is described along with the pretest numerical results. The pretest study analysis supports the dimensioning of the experimental setup and provides a sound but still not complete basis for the experimental transients. Appropriate thermal boundary conditions for the steady state are implemented. These conditions are found to be not suitable for thermal transients, hence the necessary compliance is analyzed and defined, requiring additional preliminary experimental tests. The main novelty in the refurbishment of the CIRCE is the installation of an innovative helical coil steam generator (HCSG). The realization of its numerical counterpart is challenging; therefore, a specific CFD model of the HCSG has been developed separately from the global model. Its preliminary results are described and discussed.