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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.
R. A. Anderl, R. J. Pawelko, M. A. Oates, G. R. Smolik, K. A. McCarthy
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1435-1441
Safety and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963150
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper describes an experimental system developed to investigate steam-metal reactions important to fusion technology. The system is configured specifically to measure hydrogen generation rates and tritium mobilization rates for irradiated beryllium specimens that are heated and exposed to steam. Results are presented for extensive performance and scoping tests of the system to validate the experimental technique, to determine hydrogen-generation rate detection sensitivity, and to establish appropriate calibration methods. These results include measurements of the hydrogen generation rates for steam interactions with austenitic steel, tungsten and beryllium metal specimens. The results of these scoping tests compare favorably with previous work, and they indicate a significant improvement in hydrogen detection sensitivity over previous approaches.
