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ANS Student Conference 2025
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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.
Jae-Uk Lee, Dong-you Chung, Hyun-goo Kang, Min Ho Chang, Pil-Kap Jung
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 3 | May 2024 | Pages 582-589
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2202302
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this study, the amount of 3He release from a tritium-loaded depleted uranium bed considering long-term operation in the fusion fuel cycle is assessed using empirical models. Several works are surveyed to investigate the trend of 3He released from uranium tritide. The model for 3He release is developed consisting of two parts, i.e., the natural release model and the heating release model, based on experimental studies. The natural release model is validated by applying it to experimental data. The model is applied to cyclic and long-term operation scenarios to assess the amount of 3He in the headspace of the metal tritide bed. The results show that the 3He release after long-term maintenance can be significant and must be separated from tritium before supply to the fuel cycle. During plasma operation and short maintenance, it is shown that the 3He release is less significant, but further requirement consideration is needed for the 3He separation process.
