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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.
Kazuyuki Takase, Tomoaki Kunugi, Seiichiro Yamazaki, Sadao Fujii
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 640-644
Safety and Environment (Poster Session) | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963686
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Pressure rise and condensation characteristics during the ingress-of-coolant event (ICE) in fusion reactors were investigated using the preliminary ICE apparatus with a small-scale vacuum vessel (VV), boiler, blowdown tank and isolation valve. High temperature and pressure water was injected from the boiler through piping into the VV which was heated up to 250°C, and pressure and temperature transients in the VV were measured. The pressure increased rapidly with the injection time of water because of the water evaporation. After the VV pressure reached 0.2 MPa, the isolation valve was opened and the VV was connected to the blowdown tank, and then the pressure in the VV decreased suddenly. Two types of blowdown tanks were provided: the first one had a large volume without any cooling systems; and the second one had a small volume and a water jacket to enhance the condensation. From the present experiments, it was found that the most important factors in establishing the pressure rise were flashing evaporation and boiling heat transfer inside the VV. Condensation was very effective in depressurizing the VV.
