The Hot Cell Laboratory (HC-KA) consists of 24 shielded hot cells where highly radioactive materials (including full-length light water reactor pins) can be received, handled, examined and returned to their owners.
The facilities are equipped for Post Irradiation Examination (PIE) of nuclear fuels, including non-destructive and destructive techniques. Irradiated fuel pins and capsules properties are determined using profilometry, visual inspection, eddy current measurements, gamma scanning. Internal fission gas pressure and composition are measured by puncture test. Microscopy examination of fuel and cladding, and heat treatments (limited to specific configurations) can be performed. A Raman spectrometer for the determination of surface composition is also available in hot cell.
Mechanical properties of 250-300 mm pre-pressurised fuel rod sections using three-point bending and impact device are determined to answer emerging issues pertaining to interim fuel storage and subsequent handling. Ring compression test- capabilities are also available.
Measurements of the Hydrogen content in the cladding are performed with the hot extraction technique.
A suite of chemical cells enables investigation of the back end of the fuel cycle, with focus on the long-term chemical (corrosion) stability of irradiated fuel in ground water, under both oxidising and reducing conditions (as expected in the final geological repositories). The stability of damaged fuel (“corium”) in fresh, borated and sea water is also investigated. Separate effect studies on tailor-made samples containing alpha emitters and/or simulated fission products are performed in standard gloveboxes.
A dedicated analytical sector provides ICP-MS measurements of leachates as well as full characterisation of dissolved fuel samples, including burn-up determination. Furthermore, analytical methods for the determination of key ß-emitters at trace levels by Sector Field ICP-MS coupled to automated flow injection techniques are developed for so called “difficult to measure nuclides”, and are augmented by alternative innovative initiatives based on laser spectroscopy (14C, 36Cl, etc.). Dedicated radiometric measurement tools are also available.
The Hot Cell facility serves also as a hub for the preparation of irradiated fuel samples for, among others, electron microprobe analysis, Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry, thermal diffusivity measurements.
Access to the research infrastructure is granted on the basis of Access Units. For HC-KA, the Access Unit corresponds to a 'Measurement day' made available for the experimental activities.
Physical access to the laboratories is restricted to opening hours but, in certain conditions, automatic measurements can be performed when the laboratories are closed. The Users can use the JRC in-house equipment with the help of JRC staff. Employment of User's own equipment is not recommended in the JRC radioactive laboratories, because of the strict radiation protection rules in force at JRC Karlsruhe. If the use of own equipment is necessary, this has to be indicated and duly justified in the proposal and should be coordinated already a few weeks before the scheduled laboratory time. Users can only participate in experiments led in the HC-KA laboratory by in-house staff scientists or technicians.
All users will be requested to complete and deliver safety and security-related documents to get access to the radioactive hot laboratories. Approval of access is subject to the rules of the European Commission, the Joint Research Centre and the German authorities. Submission of documents should therefore be started in due time to allow completion of the approval procedure well before the start of the experiment.
* A total of 180 Measurement Days will be allocated to the PAMEC, HC-KA and FMR laboratories
The JRC may provide a financial or in-kind contribution to support Users to cover their costs of travel and subsistence (T&S) related to the User Stay Days, subject to the availability of funds, personnel and other resources to Users from User Institutions located in an EU Member State or country associated to the Euratom Research Programme (only Switzerland and Ukraine).
A User Stay Day is a day of physical presence of a User at the concerned Research Infrastructure for Access related to the User Access Project. A User Stay Day counts as a registered entry to the JRC site where the Research Infrastructure is located.
Long term stays are primarily for students and have a duration of at least 1 month. They are typically 3 to 9 months for Karlsruhe, and 1 to 6 months for Petten and Geel.
The Lead User is invited to fill in the User travel and subsistence form and send it to JRC-ACTUSLAB-KARLSRUHE@ec.europa.eu by the closing date of the call. For more information the Lead User may contact the JRC Research Infrastructure at JRC-ACTUSLAB-KARLSRUHE@ec.europa.eu.
Proposals will be evaluated in accordance to the following selection criteria:
The proposal must be prepared using the Relevance-driven Proposal Submission Form.
During preparation of the proposal, applicants are encouraged to:
The proposal should be submitted to JRC-RI-OPEN-ACCESS@ec.europa.eu by the closing date of the call.
The User Selection Committee will only evaluate proposals that are complete and comply with the instructions in the proposal submission form.