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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.
A. M. Bhagwat, K. V. Kamath, K. N. Kutty, G. R. Naik, K. K. Narayan, P. R. Pillai, G. J. Prasad, C. Ganguly
Nuclear Technology | Volume 103 | Number 2 | August 1993 | Pages 246-256
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34846
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The first incidence of 233U-bearing fuel fabrication in India was the production of aluminum-clad Al-233U alloy fuel for the Kamini research reactor. The reactor physics experiments for this fuel are now being carried out in the Purnima III critical assembly, where Al-Pu alloy plate fuels will also be used. Both types of fuels were fabricated in the radiometallurgy laboratories of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. The hazard potential of each step, evaluated from the site-specific radiological field data, is summarized. The parameters analyzed for this purpose include external and internal radiation hazards, contamination hazards, age of fuel material (i.e., time after separation), and experimental thermoluminescent detector exposure data. Gamma spectrometric data of the finished fuel plates were also analyzed for their utility in checking the material inventory. The collective dose equivalent from the fabrication operations for 12 subassemblies (9 bearing 233U and 3 bearing plutonium) was 67 mSv, arising from external exposures only. The internal exposure was nil. Fabrication of fuel plates constituted >60% of the total exposure. Fabrication of fuel subassemblies and quality control inspection at all the stages accounted for the remaining radiation exposure. Handling of 233U/Pubearing fuels is likely to increase in the years ahead in India. In this context, analysis of radiological field data has yielded useful guidelines for future work.