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The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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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.
Kenneth L. Schwartz, Carl A. Beard
Nuclear Technology | Volume 129 | Number 2 | February 2000 | Pages 152-174
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3054
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In an effort to reduce the global stockpile of nuclear explosive devices, ~50 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium have been declared surplus to national security needs by the United States. This surplus, located at six sites within the U.S. Department of Energy complex (the Hanford Site, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Pantex Plant, the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, and the Savannah River Site) must now be rendered unattractive for use in nuclear weapons. The goal is that this drive will be concurrent with similar activities in Russia. One method currently under investigation is the conversion of the plutonium metal into mixed-oxide (MOX) reactor fuel. Approximately 35 tonnes of the surplus plutonium is in a form suitable for fabrication into MOX fuel. This fuel would be used in currently operating reactors for power production.Two processes are currently under consideration for the disposition of the 35 tonnes of surplus plutonium through its conversion into fuel for power production. These processes are the Advanced Recovery and Integrated Extraction System (ARIES) process, by which plutonium metal is converted into a powdered oxide form, and MOX fuel fabrication, where the oxide powder is combined with uranium oxide powder to form ceramic fuel. Because it is envisioned that plutonium disposition will occur concurrently in the United States and Russia, the timely disposition of the plutonium is deemed important to national security. However, the need for quick disposition must be tempered by cost considerations and constraints on the reactors that will ultimately use the fuel. This study was undertaken to determine the optimal size for both the pit conversion and MOX fabrication facilities, whereby the 35 tonnes of plutonium metal will be converted into fuel and burned for power. Proper sizing of the facilities will help avoid unnecessary delays and excessive costs and thus is important in the success of the disposition mission.The bounding conditions used were a plutonium concentration of 3 to 7%, a burnup of 20,000 to 40,000 MWd/tonnes HM, a core fraction of 0.1 to 0.4, and the number of reactors ranging from 2 to 6. Using these boundary conditions, the optimal plutonium concentration was found to be 7%. This resulted in an optimal throughput ranging from 2000 to 5000 kg/yr of plutonium. The data showed minimal costs (based solely on facility size and required manpower) resulting from throughputs in this range, at 3840, 2779, and 3497 kg/yr of plutonium, which resulted in a facility lifetime of 9.1, 12.6, and 10.0 yr, respectively.
