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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.
D. R. Harding, M. D. Wittman, D. H. Edgell
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 2 | March-April 2013 | Pages 95-105
Technical Paper | Selected papers from 20th Target Fabrication Meeting, May 20-24, 2012, Santa Fe, NM, Guest Editor: Robert C. Cook | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A16326
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Modifications to the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Cryogenic Target Positioner (Cryo-TarPos) are needed to provide polar-drive-ignition targets; ideally, these modifications will be completed and tested by 2017, the earliest date anticipated for polar-drive-ignition experiments. The extent of these modifications is defined by the mechanical and thermal requirements needed for the target to conform to the ignition design and the capabilities of the existing equipment. This paper describes the design of the polar-drive target assembly and the surrounding cryogenic environment that meets many of the specifications and requirements for the ignition target. Further work is necessary to optimize the design and provide more-detailed guidance for modifying the NIF Cryo-TarPos; however, there is sufficient information to begin the redesign effort at the conceptual level.A specialized facility has been constructed to test different target assembly and cryogenic hardware designs. The equipment provides the mechanical and cryogenic functionality available at the NIF, making it possible to test different target designs with deuterium in a configuration suitable for integration with the NIF Cryo-TarPos. The polar-drive target assembly has demonstrated a stable ice layer (170 to 350 m thick) and the ability to control the thickness to ±3 m of the desired value. The target is rotatable to fully characterize the D2 ice surface using shadowgraphy and X-ray phase contrast. Thermal models of the target and its environment indicate that (a) it should be possible to achieve the desired 1-m root-mean-square smoothness using D-T, (b) the fill tube has little effect on the ice smoothness, and (c) it is possible to shape the isotherms surrounding the target sufficiently to form an oblate ice layer that may be more desirable for polar-drive implosions.
