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Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
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.
Elise B. Fox, Scott D. Greenway, Elliot A. Clark
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 57 | Number 2 | February 2010 | Pages 103-111
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST10-A9364
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Proton exchange membrane electrolyzers (PEMEs) have potential interest for use for hydrogen isotope separation from water. In order for PEMEs to be fully utilized, more information is needed on the stability of Nafion when exposed to radiation. This work examines Nafion 117 under varying total dosage and dose rate and in water or air. Analytical tools, such as infrared spectroscopy, ion exchange capacity, dynamic mechanical analysis, and total inorganic carbon-total organic carbon (TIC-TOC) were used to characterize the exposed membranes. The water from saturated membranes was analyzed by fluoride and sulfate emissions and TIC-TOC, which provided important data on the stability of the membranes during radiation exposure.
