ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Feb 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
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.
Hassan S. Basha, Michael P. Manahan, Sr.
Nuclear Technology | Volume 100 | Number 1 | October 1992 | Pages 79-96
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34755
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three multigroup neutron cross-section libraries are used in synthesized three-dimensional discrete ordinates transport analyses to investigate their similarities, differences, and results for pressurized water reactor (PWR) pressure vessel surveillance dosimetry and shielding applications. The accurate determination of the neutron energy spectra and key exposure parameters, such as the integrated fast flux and total displacement per atom (dpa) within the pressure vessel wall, is very important for surveillance capsule analysis, pressure vessel embrittlement calculations, pressure-temperature curve calculations, and plant life extension planning. The accuracy of any radiation transport analysis depends in part on the cross-section library used to model the various materials. The calculated-to-experimental (C/E) ratios and the calculated reaction rates of several fast reactions are compared for the BUGLE-80, SAILOR, and ELXSIR cross-section libraries at the 97-deg surveillance capsule of the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station Unit 2 (SONGS-2) and at the 90- and 97-deg (C/E ratios only) cavity dosimetry locations for another PWR (referred to as Reactor X). Additionally, the displacement per atom per second attenuation through the pressure vessel wall is compared with that of the integrated fast neutron flux (E>1.0MeV) and with the attenuation functions given in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulatory Guide 1.99, Revisions 1 and 2. Finally, the pressure vessel wall exposure sensitivity to fast neutrons due to vessel eccentricity and the buildup of 239Pu in the core region are also reported. The C/E ratios calculated using ELXSIR with the updated iron cross sections for SONGS-2 are fairly close to unity compared with those calculated using the other two cross-section libraries. The Reactor X C/E ratios are close to unity using the BUGLE-80 and SAILOR libraries and much higher than unity (∼1.7) for ELXSIR with the updated iron cross sections at two cavity dosimetry locations (90 and 97 deg). The large C/E ratio is believed to be caused by vessel eccentricity. The ELXSIR cross-section library with the updated iron cross sections also produced much higher calculated reaction rates for both reactors. The fast flux (E>1.0 MeV) through the pressure vessel wall increases by 17% when the SONGS-2 core and core barrel are moved 1.27 cm closer to the pressure vessel wall to simulate vessel eccentricity. The fast flux also increases by as much as 10% for SONGS-2 and 15% for Reactor X when a mixed fission spectrum (plutonium and uranium) is used to model the neutron source in the core region. Finally, the two attenuation functions (fast flux and dpa) given in Regulatory Guide 1.99, Revisions 1 and 2, differed from the plantspecific calculation for both SONGS-2 and Reactor X.
