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Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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.
Ivan Gajev, Tomasz Kozlowski, Yunlin Xu, Thomas Downar
Nuclear Technology | Volume 180 | Number 3 | December 2012 | Pages 383-398
Technical Paper | Special Issue on the Initial Release of MCNP6 / Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A15351
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Unstable behavior of boiling water reactors (BWRs) is known to occur during operation at certain power and flow conditions. This paper reports on an uncertainty study of the impact of various parameters on the prediction of the stability of the BWR within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ringhals Unit 1 (Ringhals-1) Stability Benchmark. The time domain code TRACE/PARCS was used in the analysis. The paper is divided into two parts: a sensitivity study on numerical parameters (nodalization, time step, etc.) and an uncertainty analysis of the stability event. The sensitivity study was based on a space-time converged solution, and the most important neutronic and thermal-hydraulic parameters were identified for parameterization. The uncertainty calculation was then performed using the well-established propagation of input errors methodology. Finally, the Spearman Rank method was used to identify the most influential parameters affecting the stability of Ringhals-1.