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Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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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.
R. Vilim, R. Klann
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 1 | October 2009 | Pages 61-73
Detectors | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 1) / Radiation Measurements and Instrumentation | doi.org/10.13182/NT168-61
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Within the homeland security and emergency response communities, there is a need for a low-profile system to detect and locate radioactive sources. RadTrac has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory as an integrated system for the detection, localization, identification, and tracking of radioactive sources in real time. The system is based on a network of radiation detectors and advanced signal-processing algorithms. Features include video surveillance, automated tracking, easy setup, and logging of all data and images.This paper describes the advanced algorithms that were developed and implemented for source detection, localization, and tracking in real time. In the physio-spatial integration approach to source localization, counts from multiple detectors are processed according to the underlying physics linking these counts to obtain the probability that a source is present at any point in space. This information is depicted in a probability density function map. This type of depiction allows the results to be presented in a simple, easy-to-understand manner. It also allows for many different complicated factors to be accounted for in a single image as each factor is computed as a probability density in space. These factors include spatial limitations, variable shielding, directional detectors, moving detectors, and different detector sizes and orientations. The utility and versatility of this approach is described in further detail. Advanced signal-processing algorithms have also been incorporated to improve real-time tracking and to increase signal-to-noise ratios including temporal linking and energy binning.Measurements aimed at demonstrating the sensitivity improvements through the use of advanced signal-processing techniques were performed and are presented. Results of tracking weak sources (<100 Ci 137Cs) using four fixed-position detectors are presented.
