Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory
Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory
The Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL), Building 3525, was designed and constructed in 1963 to permit the safe handling of increasing levels of radiation in the chemical, physical, and metallurgical examination of nuclear reactor fuel elements and reactor parts. A two-story building with a partial basement, the IFEL is classified a Category 2 nuclear facility.
Specifications
3 main hot cells, 13 workstations and 15 pairs of manipulators
Viewing windows of lead glass filled with mineral oil
High-density concrete lined with stainless steel
Core Conduction Cool-down Test Facility
Two small-diameter horizontal transfer stations
Manipulators
Capabilities
Capabilities
- Receipt and handling of irradiated materials (fuel or nonfuel in shielded casks)
- Capsule disassembly
- Nondestructive and destructive testing of irradiated materials
- Full-length light water reactor fuel post-irradiation examination
- Repackaging of spent nuclear fuel
- Packaging and shipment of irradiated materials (on site and off site)
- Examination and testing activities such as metrology; metallographic sample preparation by sectioning, grinding, and polishing; optical and electron microscopy; gamma spectrometry; and other physical and mechanical properties evaluations as needed
- Safety testing of high temperature gas reactor (HTGR) fuel
- Automated sorting and analysis of HTGR fuel particles using gamma spectrometry
- Testing grid pinching and lateral constraint effects on spent nuclear fuel during transportation