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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.
Frank H. Huang, Dolores E. Mitchell, John M. Conner
Nuclear Technology | Volume 107 | Number 3 | September 1994 | Pages 254-271
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A35006
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
More than 5 300 000 ℓ (1400 000 gal) of phosphate/sulfate waste (PSW) grout were produced and placed in vault 101 at the Hanford Site. This waste was generated during decontamination operations and maintenance of the fuel storage basin at the N Reactor. The low-level radioactive liquid wastes were mixed with a blend of portland cement, fly ash, and clays. Through cementing and pozzolanic reactions with water, the grout was solidified to immobilize contaminants and retain low permeability to groundwater. Testing conducted before the campaign is described. The usefulness of each quality verification technique is discussed, focusing mainly on data from the core samples. These data provide the best information on PSW grout since core samples from all regions and depths in the vault were tested. The nondestructive testing data are also useful as they provide property data from broad regions of the vault. The mean compressive strength of the PSW grout cores is 4.17 MPa (605 lbƒ/in.2), much higher than the criterion value of 0.35 MPa (50 lbƒ/in.2). Results also show that the leachability indices for 137Cs, 60Co, sodium, and SO4 for PSW grout cores exceed the leachability criterion [American Nuclear Society (ANS) 16.1 leach indices ≥ 7] by at least one index point. This means that the ability of the grout to resist leaching of waste species is at least ten times greater than the limiting criterion. The facility is nearly ready to begin solidifying higher activity mixed waste; however, the program is being reevaluated to determine whether this increased scope of work is appropriate.