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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.
Elyahu Avidor, Francisco J. Joglar-Billoch, Frederick W. Mowrer, Mohammad Modarres
Nuclear Technology | Volume 144 | Number 3 | December 2003 | Pages 337-357
Technical Paper | Nuclear Plant Operations and Control | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3449
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fire in electrical cabinets is of major concern in nuclear power plants. With the need to reduce incoming electrical power from 14 kV to as low as 50 V, and the need to supply power to hundreds of electrical components, there is an abundance of electrical cabinets in nuclear power plants. The combination of fire load and live electrical energy within electrical cabinets has caused fires and explosions. Such fires are of concern as they may disrupt the delivery of electrical power and instrumentation and control in the plant. In addition, the fire can propagate to nearby cabinets and plant components. This paper presents advances in the knowledge and understanding of the conditions inside a cabinet due to fire and ranks fire hazard potential of electrical cabinets.Test results for electrical cabinet fires have been reported by Sandia National Laboratories and by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). The Sandia tests provide data for fires in control cabinets. The VTT tests provide a model for calculation of burning rates inside a specific electrical cabinet. This research included a site visit to a nuclear power plant to understand variations in electrical cabinet design as well as performing 39 cabinet fire tests with varying burning rates, ventilation openings, and cabinet sizes. Two types of fuels were used for this study: propane gas and heptane liquid. This paper identifies the minimum fire size that can be maintained in a cabinet as a function of ventilation openings, cabinet wall temperatures, and radiation levels, and the characteristics of external smoke and fire plumes. Based on the test results, a one-zone model was developed for mathematical simulation. The model was used to expand on the results of the tests to construct a risk matrix of fire hazards for various cabinets as a function of the cabinet size, fire size, and ventilation openings.Since the test results in this study are based on propane and heptane as the fire load, it is desirable to also test the effect of fire load from electrical components and wiring, given a range of cabinet dimensions and vent conditions. Heat flux measurements should include the external smoke and/or flame plumes. Further studies should analyze the possibility and implications of an explosion within a cabinet, and results should be compared with existing national and international design standard requirements.
