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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.
Gerald L. Palau
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 3 | November 1989 | Pages 679-682
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Remote Technology and Engineering / Criticality Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27719
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During the accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2), small quantities of fuel material were transported to plant piping systems outside the reactor coolant system (RCS). The likelihood of a criticality outside of the RCS during the cleanup of the plant systems was very small; however, given the consequence of any possible critical event in the TMI-2 systems, it was always necessary to ensure that all steps were taken to prevent criticality. Therefore, engineered controls were developed to ensure that decontamination of plant systems containing fuel material could be conducted in a manner that precluded criticality.
