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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.
I. Maya, K. R. Schultz, J. M. Battaglia, L. C. Brown, E. T. Cheng, R. L. Creedon, D. R. Engler, W. G. Homeyer, M. T. Simnad, P. W. Trester, C. P. C. Wong, R. W. Goodrich, B. K. Jensen, R. Krauss
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 178-183
Hybrids and Nonelectric Applications | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22864
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A conceptual fusion synfuel production system has been developed with the unique features of: (1) a fusion blanket producing high-temperature (1250°C) process heat, and (2) the GA sulfur-iodine thermochemical cycle. The system incorporates a two-zone blanket which achieves a tritium breeding ratio of 1.1 while delivering a high fraction (30%) of the fusion heat at high temperatures (1250°C). The multiple barriers to tritium permeation in the blanket design permit the hydrogen product to meet 10CFR20 regulatory requirements without stringent requirements on the tritium recovery systems. A ceramic heat exchanger, incorporating SiC tubes and headers to contain the process stream and a cooled, Inconel 718 pressure shell to contain the helium, was designed for transferring the heat from the high-temperature coolant to the process. A good heat-line match of the blanket heat-source temperature distribution to the requirements of the thermochemical plant was attained under the dual goal of maximizing process efficiency and minimizing the hydrogen cost. The results are a process efficiency of 45%, an overall plant efficiency of 43%, and an estimated cost of hydrogen of $12 to $14 per Gigajoule of hydrogen ($11 to $13 per million Btu).