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Division Spotlight
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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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.
J. D. Rader, M. S. Greenwood, A. M. Melin, A. J. Wysocki (ORNL), G. M. Borza C. D. Lietwiler (SMR Inventec, LLC)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 765-775
A cooperative research and development agreement between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Holtec International subsidiary SMR Inventec, LLC, was crafted to explore the primary flow stability of the SMR-160, a natural circulation-based pressurized-water small modular reactor. It is necessary to investigate the stability of the system at operational power levels when natural circulation is the driver of the primary flow to show that operation of the plant is stable, predictable, and controllable. The first phase of the analysis was a code-to-code benchmarking activity between RELAP5-3D and the Modelica-based, ORNL-developed TRANSFORM library. The benchmarking included both generic comparisons of heated channels and step-change transients of certain plant boundary conditions of interest. Following the benchmarking, a parametric series of linear stability tests was performed using discrete signals applied to one of several boundary conditions. These signals excite the natural harmonics of the system and produce small perturbations in the power of the reactor. Though some resonant behavior was observed, the results indicate stable operation of the SMR-160 at the conditions investigated. The frequency range covered included several octaves on either side of the loop transit frequency. Thus, a reasonable determination of the stability and controllability of the plant can be made over a large range of timescales.