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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.
Tatsuhiko Uda, Masahiro Tanaka, Takahiko Sugiyama, Taku Yamaguchi, Noriyuki Momoshima
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 54 | Number 1 | July 2008 | Pages 281-284
Technical Paper | Environment and Safety | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1813
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Atmospheric tritium concentrations at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) Toki site of Japan, where the Large Helical Device (LHD) has been operating, were measured considering future deuterium plasma experiments and environmental safety. The major chemical forms of atmospheric tritium are water (HTO), hydrogen (HT) and methane (CH3T). Average tritium concentrations of HTO, HT and CH3T observed from January 2003 to March 2006 were 9.0 mBq/m3, 9.0 mBq/m3 and 2.0 mBq/m3, respectively. To examine about the systematic error of the air sampling device, we cross-checked with the sampling device of Kumamoto University. The values obtained with both devices were almost consistent. The HTO concentration principally depends on humidity in air. The HTO concentration in the collected water and the HT concentration tend to show seasonal variation. The atmospheric tritium levels measured at Toki were consistent comparing with another environmental values measured in Japan. The present atmospheric tritium monitoring would be useful for safety consideration.
