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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.
I. Popescu, Gh. Ionita, I. Stefanescu, A. Kitamoto
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 1 | July-August 2005 | Pages 108-111
Technical Paper | Tritium Science and Technology - Tritium Science and Technology - Detritiation, Purification, and Isotope Separation | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-41
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The hydrophobic catalysts were originally conceived in Canada for the deuterium enrichment and tritium separation by hydrogen-liquid water isotopic exchange in nuclear field. Unlike the conventional hydrophilic catalysts, which becomes inefficient to direct contact with liquid water, the hydrophobic catalysts kept a high catalytic activity and stability, even under the direct contact with liquid water or in presence of humid gas. Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R&D activities on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts, in tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: (1) to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes (2) to asses and to find a new procedure for preparation of a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. From reviewed references we consider that platinum remains the most active and efficient catalytic metal and the TEFLON is the best wetproofing agent. A new improved hydrophobic Pt-catalyst has been proposed and is now underway. The main steps and experimental conditions of preparation are largely discussed. A new wet-proofing agent and a new binding agents (titanium oxide, cerium oxide, zirconium oxide) with catalytic role are proposed and tested. The physico-structural parameters of new improved catalyst have been determined and are discussed in details. The new proposal is a promising idea to improve the performances of conventional hydrophobic Pt-catalysts.