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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.
D. R. Harding, J. Ulreich, M. D. Wittman, R. Chapman, C. Taylor, R. Taylor, N. P. Redden, J. C. Lambropoulos, R. Q. Gram, M. J. Bonino, D. W. Turner
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 73 | Number 3 | April 2018 | Pages 324-334
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1374812
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Improving the performance of direct-drive cryogenic targets at the Omega Laser Facility requires the development of a new cryogenic system to (1) field nonpermeable targets with a fill tube and (2) provide a clean environment around the target. This capability is to demonstrate that imploding a scaled-down version of the direct-drive ignition target for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on the OMEGA laser will generate the hot-spot pressure that is needed for ignition; this will justify future cryogenic direct-drive experiments on the NIF cryogenic targets. The paper describes the target, the cryogenic equipment that is being constructed to achieve this goal, and the proposed target delivery process. Thermal calculations, fill tube–based target designs, and structural/vibrational analyses are provided to demonstrate the credibility of the design.
This new design will include capabilities not available (or possible) with the existing OMEGA cryogenic system, with the emphasis being to preserve a pristinely clean environment around the target and to provide upgraded diagnostics to characterize both the ice layer and the target’s surface. The conceptual design is complete and testing of prototypes and subcomponents is underway. The rationale and capabilities of the new design are discussed.