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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.
Yoshinori Kawamura, Wataru Shu, Masao Matsuyama, Toshihiko Yamanishi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 60 | Number 3 | October 2011 | Pages 986-989
Measurement, Monitoring, and Accountancy | Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST11-A12581
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Beta ray induced X-ray spectrometry (BIXS) is one of the methods applicable to tritium gas monitor. It can measure tritium by counting the X-ray that is induced by interaction between the beta ray of tritium and the materials. Tritium gas monitor of BIXS use installed into Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) uses NaI(Tl) as the scintillator. In this work, the NaI scintillator and the photo-multiplier that can work at 150°C have been installed instead of the ordinary scintillator and photo-multiplier. And, the sample gas such as He, T2, or T2 (1%)/He mixture was introduced into the tritium gas monitor kept at 120°C. Then, the counting rate was observed. The counting rate at 120°C was about a half of that at the room temperature. The counting rate after the heating was almost same with that before the heating. So, the deterioration of the scintillator by the heating has not been observed.
