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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.
Jeffery F. Latkowski, Jorge J. Sanchez, Lee C. Pittenger
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 2 | March 1999 | Pages 255-259
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A11963933
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During yield operations, the materials within the National Ignition Facility (NIF) cryogenic target positioner will be exposed to high fluences of high-energy neutrons. If left unchecked, these neutrons could deposit unacceptably high amounts of energy within the cryogenic fluids. In addition, these neutrons will induce residual radioactivity within the target positioner and may lead to intolerable dose rates for maintenance personnel. Through careful design and selection of materials, however, these effects may be mitigated. The present work uses nominal design characteristics for the cryogenic target positioner to show that traditional cryogenic and structural materials will not produce an acceptable design. Further, we develop an alternate design that addresses the issues of neutron shielding and activation.
