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Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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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.
Yanhui Wang, Qiao Jiang, Yexin Yang, Jianfeng Cheng, Chenyang Bao, Yuelong Pan, Yu Liu, Gang Yang, Yangchun Leng, Xianguo Tuo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 12 | December 2022 | Pages 1894-1907
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2083749
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The alteration of the morphology of bentonite, a key barrier to isolating high-level radioactive waste in deep geological repositories under long-term interaction with groundwater, was studied. Bentonite colloids were prepared from Gaomiaozi bentonite, and its various properties were analyzed by various characterization methods. The effects of various factors on the adsorption of Cs(I) and Co(II) on bentonite colloids were investigated by batch static adsorption experiments. The results showed that the colloids were mainly composed of montmorillonite and were lamellar in shape, with a zeta potential of −enton mV and an average size of approximately 209.10 nm. The adsorption of Cs(I) and Co(II) by the colloids was a rapid process, and 31.78 and 88.24 mg/g, respectively, were adsorbed at equilibrium. Pseudo-second-order kinetic fitting showed that chemisorption plays a dominant role and acid-base interactions affect adsorption by influencing the stability of colloids and the chemical form of simulated nuclides. This work can be helpful for evaluating the safety of waste repositories.
