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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.
Robert S. Sellers, Wei-Jen Cheng, Brian C. Kelleher, Mark H. Anderson, Kumar Sridharan, Chaur-Jeng Wang, Todd R. Allen
Nuclear Technology | Volume 188 | Number 2 | November 2014 | Pages 192-199
Technical Paper | Materials for Nuclear Systems | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-95
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Molten FLiNaK salt [46.5%LiF-11.5%NaF-42%KF (mol%)] has been proposed for use as a secondary reactor coolant and medium for transfer of high-temperature process heat from nuclear reactors to chemical plants. Two alloys—Hastelloy-N superalloy (Hastelloy-N) and Type 316L stainless steel alloy (316L steel)—were exposed to molten FLiNaK salt in a 316L steel crucible under argon cover gas at 850°C for 1000 h. Graphite was also introduced into the test with the goal of studying the corrosion behavior of relevant reactor material combinations. The results show that corrosion of 316L steel occurred primarily through surface depletion of Cr. Contrarily, Hastelloy-N experienced weight gain due to the electrochemical plating of corrosion products, Fe and Cr, derived from the 316L steel crucible. The graphite sample enhanced the corrosion of the 316L steel sample and crucible, which induced the formation of (Cr,Fe)7C3 and (Mo,Cr,Fe)2C carbides on the surface of graphite. These carbide formations were attributed to the nonelectric transfer between 316L steel and graphite. Besides reducing the availability of chromium to plate, the presence of graphite did not change the basic corrosion of the 316L steel and plating process of Hastelloy-N.
