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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.
Dong Won Lee, Jae Sung Yoon, Ki Sok Jung, Suk Kwon Kim, Eo Hwak Lee, Seungyon Cho
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 62 | Number 1 | July-August 2012 | Pages 171-179
Blanket Materials Technology | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Fusion Reactor Materials, Part A: Fusion Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A14131
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Korea has developed a liquid breeder blanket and participated in the test blanket module program for ITER. To develop liquid breeder technologies with not only liquid lithium but also lead-lithium (PbLi), an experimental loop for the liquid breeder was constructed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The main purposes of the loop are developing components such as an electromagnetic pump, testing the effects of magnetohydrodynamics, and investigating the compatibility between the liquid breeder and other materials. Before operating the loop, the melting and solidifying temperatures of the PbLi and its contamination were experimentally investigated considering cyclic use with the prepared reaction chamber. Melting and solidifying temperatures were [approximately]235°C, and there was no change even with the cyclic test. Because of contamination such as oxidation, however, the composition of PbLi can be changed, which should be considered when operating the loop. The reactions of PbLi and Li with air and water were observed. The PbLi did not react with air or water, but Li showed a severe reaction with them. However, reaction mitigation using nano-particles was found in the experiment.