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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.
Hyun Seok Kim, Hyunsun Han, Ki Min Kim, Jwa-Soon Kim, Sang Hee Hong
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 2 | February 2009 | Pages 95-99
Technical Paper | Seventh International Conference on Open Magnetic Systems for Plasma Confinement | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A6990
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A two-dimensional numerical modeling is carried out to simulate argon plasma-neutral transport in a linear divertor simulator with an axisymmetric cylindrical geometry. A pure argon plasma flow is introduced from the source region into the transport region, and pumped out near the target plate. This numerical modeling is based on a time-dependent Braginskii's fluid formulation for plasma transport and a simple diffusion model for neutral transport. The Bohm diffusion model is adopted for calculation of radial diffusion coefficients across the parallel magnetic field in the simulator. Using the design and operation parameters of the Multi-Purpose Plasma (MP2) facility at the National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) in Korea, argon plasma properties such as density and temperature distributions are calculated, and the formation of ionization front is found in the transport region. Plasma equilibrium profiles along the near axis turn out to be actually unaffected by the pumping positions along the cylindrical wall. Moreover, a gas target divertor concept is numerically simulated to find out puffing effects as well as pumping roles. As increasing the puffing rate at the target plate, not only the ionization front in the plasma density profile is gradually moving toward the entrance region, but also plasma density and electron temperature at the target are dramatically reduced. Two relatively peaked poles in the neutral density profile are resulted from puffing and recycling neutrals, respectively.