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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.
Sadao Hattori, Hiroshi Sasakawa, Norihiko Handa
Nuclear Technology | Volume 85 | Number 1 | April 1989 | Pages 22-32
Technical Paper | Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34224
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Humankind plays a major role in the life cycle of structures or equipment, as represented by the overall processes of design, manufacture, operation, inspection, and maintenance. Any failure or damage to a structure or equipment is therefore associated with human actions. The effects of human factors on structural reliability are studied. Classification of the causes of equipment and structural failure falls into three groups in terms of the effects on stress and strength of equipment and structures. To assess the effects of factors in these three groups on structural reliability, mathematical models are reviewed and appropriate models for each group are selected. By applying these models to simple piping, they are found to be appropriate for assessing human factors. In addition, simplified models for assessing the impact of human factors on structural reliability during an earthquake are studied.
