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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.
Laila A. El-Guebaly
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 1475-1480
ITER | Proceedings of the Ninth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Oak Brook, Illinois, October 7-11, 1990) | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29549
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is designed to operate in two phases; physics and technology. The prime function of the shield is to protect the TF magnets. The predominant radiation limits are the nuclear heat load to the magnet and the end-of-life dose to the electrical insulator. These limits are specified by the magnet designers as 65 kW and 5×109 rads. Detailed shielding analysis has been performed and necessary machine modifications have been proposed during the conceptual design phase (1987–1990) in order to meet the magnet radiation limits. The shield is designed to satisfy the neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and mechanical design requirements. The reference shield consists of 316 SS structure and water coolant. A 5 cm thick back layer with special materials, such as W, Pb, and B4C, is considered outside the vacuum vessel to reduce the magnet damage. Two regions with critical shielding space are identified in ITER, the inboard and divertor regions. This paper presents the various options for the shield design based on a variety of shielding materials and summarizes the different analyses carried out to guide the shield design.
