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Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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.
Shih-Jen Wang, Chun-Sheng Chien
Nuclear Technology | Volume 103 | Number 3 | September 1993 | Pages 403-409
Technical Paper | Reactor Operation | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34860
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To apply fast and accurate simulation techniques to Taiwanese nuclear power plants, the Chinshan plant analyzer was developed based on the Brookhaven National Laboratory boiling water reactor (BWR) plant analyzer. The Chinshan plant analyzer provides user-friendly, on-line, interactive simulation capability with graphics display and is suitable for control system analysis. During the generator load rejection (GLR) test at the Chinshan BWR power station located in northern Taiwan, the reactor feedwater pump (RFP) tripped because of a high downcomer level (level 8). Feedwater control was then lost because of the RFP trip. By the end of the transient, a huge amount of water had accumulated in the reactor pressure vessel. The margin to main steamline flooding was decreased. An optimization module was developed and added to the Chinshan plant analyzer. With the optimized feedwater controller settings, the maximum downcomer level is below level 8, and the RFP does not trip during the GLR transient. The margin to main steamline flooding is increased. These techniques will be applied for improving plant performance in the near future.
