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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.
Kei-Ichi Otoha, Shunsuke Uchida
Nuclear Technology | Volume 122 | Number 1 | April 1998 | Pages 72-82
Technical Paper | Reactor Operations and Control | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2852
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
From analyses of the isotopic contribution of radioactive contamination on major components around the main boiling water reactor turbine system and the isotopic distribution along the system, the following conclusions are drawn:1. Contamination, especially on components that are installed downstream of the low-pressure turbine, is caused by the drain of surplus reactor water into the main condenser.2. Contamination is from radioactive fission products and radioactive corrosion products that are carried with the main steam flow.To reduce radioactive contamination, it is most important to drain the hot water directly into the radwaste system. To reduce contamination from carryover radioactivity, it is essential to suppress the radioactivity in the reactor water. Preventing fuel defects and suppressing the radioactivity of crud in the reactor water can decrease contamination of the main turbine system and minimize the contaminated area, which lessens the possibility of internal exposure.