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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.
Yang Hong Jung, Boung Ok Yoo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 5 | May 2021 | Pages 726-734
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1805250
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Chalk River Unidentified Deposit (CRUD) specimens were sampled and analyzed using an electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA; JEOL JXA-8230R) with a bundle of spent nuclear fuel (actual burnup 49 655 MWd/tonne U) from a Korean nuclear power plant. CRUD collection in the reactor refueling cavity was carried out using the following two methods. The first method used an Al2O3 scraper to scrape a specific area of the fuel cladding and then a paper filter to draw the suspended pieces around it. The second method removed CRUD deposited outside the cladding by vibrating the fuel bundle with an ultrasonic wave. In the first method, scraping some parts of the fuel rods with the Al2O3 scraper made it difficult to obtain an analytical sample because of the very small sample collection. However, the results of the analysis of the identified CRUD samples accurately confirmed the shape and composition of the CRUD in the specific area of the fuel rods desired by the user. In contrast, the second method using the ultrasonic cleaner made it very difficult to analyze samples because of the excessive amount of collected CRUD. In this study, we will discuss two methods for collecting corrosion products existing in the primary cooling system of a pressurized water reactor and the results of an analysis using a shielded EPMA. In addition, we will confirm the value of the Ni/Fe ratio.
