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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.
T. Nishitani, K. Kondo, S. Ohira, T. Yamanishi, M. Sugimoto, T. Hayashi, K. Ochiai
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 68 | Number 2 | September 2015 | Pages 326-330
Technical Paper | Proceedings of TOFE-2014 | doi.org/10.13182/FST14-930
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A neutron source for material and component tests is an essential tool for the DEMO reactor development. An accelerator-based neutron source such as IFMIF is regarded as the most promising one in Japan and the EU. The construction plan of IFMIF is still open due to the influence of the large cost overrun of ITER procurements. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has a plan of a neutron source for material and component tests using an IFMIF/EVEDA prototype accelerator and a lithium test loop for the IFMIF target facility. Expected performances of three options; 9 MeV and upgrading to 26 or 40 MeV of deuteron beam, are discussed. At the back plate position of the target, 1.5, 14, and 25 dpa/fpy are expected for 9, 26, and 40 MeV case, respectively. The option of 40 MeV is desirable, however, the option of 26 MeV is acceptable for blanket functional tests and material tests.
