Functional design criteria additional high-level waste handling and storage facilities

Abstract Sweden has chosen to manage spent fuel rods by direct encapsulation and storage in a deep level repository. Two welding processes are being investigated for the sealing of copper vessels that form the outer barrier of the disposal canisters. TWI Ltd in the UK has developed Reduced Pressure Electron Beam Welding and Friction Stir Welding for 50mm thick copper. This paper describes some of the investigations and compares the techniques. Over the past 3 years a full-size canister welding machine has been designed and built. Specialised tools have been developed for the welding of thick sections in copper with very encouraging results.

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Developing a Standard Code for Spent Fuel and High Level Waste Containment Baskets

Volume 1: Plant Operations, Maintenance, Installations and Life Cycle; Component Reliability and Materials Issues; Advanced Applications of Nuclear Technology; Codes, Standards, Licensing and Regulatory Issues ◽

10.1115/icone16-48285 ◽

2008 ◽

Author(s):

Donald Wayne Lewis

Keyword(s):

Radioactive Material ◽

High Level Waste ◽

Plant Design ◽

Support Structures ◽

Spent Fuel ◽

Waste Containment ◽

Internal Support ◽

Division 1 ◽

High Level ◽

And Storage

ASME Section III, Division 3, “Containments for Transportation and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High Level Radioactive Material and Waste” currently addresses the design of transportation and storage containment shells but it has yet to address the containment internal support structure that holds the spent fuel or high level waste in place. However, the code for internal support structures, hereafter referred to by its common name “basket”, has been under development by ASME for the past 2 years. Development of the new code, to be known as Subsection WD, “Internal Support Structures” was deemed necessary because current containment system basket construction is a piecemeal approach using ASME Section III, Division 1, Subsection NF, “Supports” and/or ASME Section III, Division 1, Subsection NG, “Core Support Structures” or some other engineering method. Approvals for the various combinations are granted from the regulatory authority. The piecemeal approach tries to capture the critical elements important for a containment basket. However, Subsections NF and NG are based on nuclear power plant design which has different design goals than for a spent fuel or high level waste containment. The issuance of Subsection WD will ensure standardization of future containment baskets, assist the regulatory agency in the review and approval of the baskets, and ensure that the essential criteria in the basket related to spent fuel and high level waste storage transportation and disposal is adequately addressed. The purpose of the basket is primarily to ensure that the radioactive components in the containment are supported in a way as not to create a criticality event. Current acceptance is typically based on a no yield design that the containment manufactures all say is too conservative and based on unreasonable criteria. What should the basket design be based on, how should Subsection WD address them, etc.? The purpose of this paper is to inform interested parties of the progress that has been made in development of Subsection WD, what construction provisions it will initially include and what is planned for it, and when is it scheduled to be issued.

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Transporting and Storing High-Level Nuclear Waste in the U.S.—Insights from a Mathematical Model

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9122437 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 2437 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sebastian Wegel ◽

Victoria Czempinski ◽

Pao-Yu Oei ◽

Ben Wealer

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Waste ◽

The United States ◽

Nuclear Industry ◽

High Level Waste ◽

Geological Repository ◽

High Level Nuclear Waste ◽

High Level ◽

Interim Storage ◽

Storage Facilities

The nuclear industry in the United States of America has accumulated about 70,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste over the past decades; at present, this waste is temporarily stored close to the nuclear power plants. The industry and the Department of Energy are now facing two related challenges: (i) will a permanent geological repository, e.g., Yucca Mountain, become available in the future, and if yes, when?; (ii) should the high-level waste be transported to interim storage facilities in the meantime, which may be safer and more cost economic? This paper presents a mathematical transportation model that evaluates the economic challenges and costs associated with different scenarios regarding the opening of a long-term geological repository. The model results suggest that any further delay in opening a long-term storage increases cost and consolidated interim storage facilities should be built now. We show that Yucca Mountain’s capacity is insufficient and additional storage is necessary. A sensitivity analysis for the reprocessing of high-level waste finds this uneconomic in all cases. This paper thus emphasizes the urgency of dealing with the high-level nuclear waste and informs the debate between the nuclear industry and policymakers on the basis of objective data and quantitative analysis.

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Difficulty Factors in Homemaking Tasks: Implications for Environmental Design

Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ◽

10.1177/001872087201400508 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 471-482 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Rose E. Steidl

Keyword(s):

Environmental Design ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

Design Criteria ◽

Functional Design ◽

Equipment And Supplies ◽

Work Surface ◽

And Storage

Homemakers were asked what made the work more or less difficult in tasks they named as high and low in cognitive requirements. Most frequently responses for high and low cognitive tasks and for more and less difficult work concerned housing and facilities in the home. The adequacy of equipment and space were noted often as were adequacy of work surface and storage, availability of equipment and supplies, and room arrangement. Each task was rated for complexity, difficulty, and preference. The results suggest that functional design criteria should be put to greater use. The implications for dwelling design are that difficulty factors are a source of annoyance, and minimizing them is important to the productivity and satisfaction of the homemaker.

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