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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.
W. P. Steckle, Jr., M. E. Smith, R. J. Sebring, A. Nobile, Jr.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | March 2004 | Pages 74-78
Technical Paper | Target Fabrication | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A430
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
High Internal Phase Emulsion (HIPE) polystyrene foams have been made at LANL for the past decade. It is a robust system that offers flexibility in tailoring density and the incorporation of halogens and metals. As target designs become more complex the demands placed on the foams are more stringent. Parts are machined from 30 mg/cm3 foams to thicknesses of 50 m. At three percent of full density these foams are to withstand extraction with ethanol to remove the wax utilized as a machining aid and not allow shrinkage or warpage. In order to accomplish this the formulation of the HIPE foam had to be modified. Recently some new processing issues have arisen. At low densities voids have become a problem. To determine a formulation that reduces void content and allows minimum shrinkage, experimental design was utilized. We also developed image analysis techniques that allow us to quantify the amount of voids in the system. These techniques also allow us to evaluate the surface finish of the foam. In order to machine these low density foams to the tolerance required with an optimum surface finish the foams are backfilled with Brij 78, an alcohol soluble wax. After the part is machined, the Brij is leached out. Recent batches of Brij have exhibited high shrinkage, which in turn affects the surface finish of the foam.