Argonne National Laboratory has opened its Activated Materials Lab, a radiological facility next to the Advanced Photon Source that lets scientists use an ultrabright X-ray beam to safely examine the inner structure of irradiated metals and nuclear fuels. The new capability allows researchers to see how radiation affects reactor materials in real time, supporting advances in reactor component design and helping utilities better plan maintenance and repair schedules.
Activated Materials Lab
Equipped with fume hoods, glove boxes, shielded containers, and approved sample containments, the new Activated Materials Lab can safely handle samples with higher radioactivity than previously allowed at the facility.
Staffed with a dedicated team that is responsible for receiving radioactive samples and transferring them safely to the Advanced Photon Source x-ray beamlines for measurements, the lab is able to reduce the turnaround time on user experiments while allowing researchers to focus on data collection and interpretation.
The Advanced Photon Source recently underwent a major upgrade project which enhanced its brightness over 100-fold and built nine new x-ray beamlines, including the High-Energy X-ray Microscope beamline at 20-ID which is adjacent to the Activated Materials Lab. With enhanced access to upgraded x-ray capabilities, researchers now have the ability to pursue a wider range of experiments.
“By safely enabling higher activity samples at the Advanced Photon Source, this new capability allows for clearer views of how materials change during their time in a reactor, speeding progress toward safer, longer-lasting components,” said Brenden J. Heidrich, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities program.
Going Granular
The new facility recently completed its first-ever user experiments examining the origins of stress corrosion cracks in irradiated materials.
Researchers looked at stainless steel parts that after decades of use were removed from a light-water reactor. The parts had developed microcracks due to a combination of irradiation, mechanical stress, and exposure to a corrosive environment.
Using a combination of three-dimensional x-ray techniques, researchers were able to examine the metal at the polycrystal grain level to see if they could find characteristics that correlated to cracking.
Finding the mechanisms that contribute to this behavior in alloys used in nuclear reactors will inform future material designs and long-term performance of existing reactors.
“This first experiment shows that the Activated Materials Laboratory can safely bridge irradiated samples to world-class X-ray tools, lowering barriers for the nuclear materials community,” said Xuan Zhang, Principal Materials Scientist at Argonne and facility lead of the AML. “By coordinating shipping, encapsulation, and safety reviews, AML helps users make the most of beam time and investigate questions that were out of reach before.”
“Access to higher-activity samples at beamline 1-ID, under strict controls, lets us probe grain-level behavior in materials that reflect real conditions,” said Jon Almer, Group Leader and Scientist, Materials Physics and Engineering Group, at Argonne. “Combining tomography with far-field and near-field high-energy diffraction microscopy gives a fuller picture that can inform models and materials design.”
The experiment was led by the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign’s Professor James Stubbins, with collaborators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, The University of Alabama, and Argonne National Laboratory, and was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program and the Light Water Reactor Sustainability program.
What’s Next?
The Activated Materials Lab stands ready to receive its next user experiment, adding its capacity to the list of innovative resources and capabilities the U. S. Department of Energy provides to researcher and industry to advance nuclear materials and technologies.
The Activated Materials Laboratory is supported by the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program. The Advanced Photon Source is a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility operated by Argonne National Laboratory.
For more information: NSUF
