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The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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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.
Liq-Ji Yuan, Pao-Shan Weng, Cheng-Chang Chan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 86 | Number 1 | July 1989 | Pages 30-34
Technical Paper | Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34278
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The radionuclides in the gaseous effluent, in the water coolant from the research reactor, and in the surroundings were detected with gamma-ray spectrometry with and without using the Compton suppression technique, depending on the activity levels detected. All gamma-ray spectra were taken at various reactor power levels to investigate the relationship between the gamma-ray activities and the power levels. The linear proportionality between the activities and the power levels is valid to a certain extent. Activity in the water coolant was quite high, so in situ measurement was replaced by the sampling technique. The radionuclide 24Na in the coolant was specifically determined as a function of reactor operating time, and it tended to saturate over time. No manmade radionuclides were present in the surroundings except for 137Cs as fallout.
