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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.
Selcen Uzun Duran, Pelin Uslu Kiçeci, Bilge Demirköz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 2 | February 2022 | Pages 364-370
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1888617
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Middle East Technical University Defocusing Beamline (METU-DBL) is being constructed in order to perform single event effects tests for the electronic components in accordance with the European Space Agency (ESA) European Space Components Coordination (ESCC) No. 25100 standard. The aim of this beamline is to provide a suitable test area at the end of the beamline using the beam elements, such as collimators and magnets. Shielding is a crucial precaution for the safety of the radiation workers and the protection of the electronic components from the detrimental effects of radiation. In the METU-DBL, shielding studies have started with the first protective collimator because the proton beam hits the collimator, resulting in secondary particle production that increases the dose level in the research and development (R&D) room. The shielding studies of the first protective collimator used in the pretest setup of the METU-DBL are presented in this study. The whole beamline was defined in the FLUKA simulation program to calculate the absorbed radiation dose and make shielding designs. Various shielding designs were studied in FLUKA and the 15th one was selected as a suitable shielding design for the first protective collimator. This shield was manufactured and mounted on the first protective collimator and used in 20 irradiations during the pretests. At the end of 20 irradiations, it was observed that the shield is effective at decreasing the dose level in the R&D room.