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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.
B. W. N. Fitzpatrick, J. W. Davis, A. A. Haasz, A. G. McLean, P. C. Stangeby, S. L. Allen, R. Ellis, W. P. West
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 58 | Number 2 | October 2010 | Pages 603-612
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST10-A10887
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Carbon-based codeposits formed in carbon-containing fusion devices have the potential to dominate tritium retention in the torus. One of the tritium removal techniques currently being studied is thermo-oxidation, which is unique in its ability to remove tritium from codeposits without mechanical intervention in the torus and in its ability to remove tritium from codeposits in tile gaps and shaded areas. In preparation for an oxidation experiment planned to be performed in DIII-D, we have investigated the potential collateral effects of thermo-oxidation on DIII-D in-vessel components. Laboratory oxidation experiments were performed at 2 Torr ([approximately]270 Pa) and 15 Torr ([approximately]2 kPa) O2 pressure and temperatures in the range 100 to 350°C (373 to 623 K) for 2 to 8 h. After oxidation, components were examined for visual or mechanical change, and when appropriate, mass changes were also obtained. In some cases, optical diagnostics were also performed. The specimens were mostly spare/surplus components and spanned a wide variety of materials and functions, e.g., cryopump components; structural, mechanical, and diagnostic components; and fast-wave antennas. The effect of oxidation was found to be negligible for nearly all DIII-D components and materials tested.