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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Sunday, June 12, 2022|8:00AM–12:00PM PDT
Avila B
Requirements for Attendees: No requirements; however, attendees with SCALE 6.2 (or more recent) can participate in UQ demos, and attendees with SCALE 6.2.2 (or more recent) can participate in UQ & parametric studies demos.
Summary Paragraph: This tutorial will introduce the capabilities of the Sampler sequence, available starting in SCALE 6.2. The initial implementation of Sampler included uncertainty quantification (UQ) based on Monte Carlo sampling of multigroup nuclear data or input parameters in any SCALE sequence. The tutorial will touch on nuclear data sampling but will focus on UQ for input materials and geometry descriptions in criticality safety models. The Sampler sequence was expanded in the 6.2.2 update to include a parametric study capability. This capability is particularly useful for nuclear criticality safety evaluations and has been used extensively in recent work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Demonstrations of both the UQ and parametric capabilities will be included. Attendees with licensed copies of SCALE 6.2 installed on their devices will be able to follow along with presenters in the demonstrations.