Spent fuel dry storage technology development: thermal evaluation of sealed storage cask containing spent fuel

ABSTRACTCurrent practice for commercial spent nuclear fuel management in the United States of America (US) includes storage of spent fuel in both pools and dry storage cask systems at nuclear power plants. Most storage pools are filled to their operational capacity, and management of the approximately 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel newly discharged each year requires transferring older and cooler fuel from pools into dry storage. In the absence of a repository that can accept spent fuel for permanent disposal, projections indicate that the US will have approximately 134,000 metric tons of spent fuel in dry storage by mid-century when the last plants in the current reactor fleet are decommissioned. Current designs for storage systems rely on large dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters that are not optimized for disposal. Various options exist in the US for improving integration of management practices across the entire back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.

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Analysis for seismic response of dry storage facility for spent fuel

Nuclear Engineering and Design ◽

10.1016/j.nucengdes.2008.09.006 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 239 (1) ◽

pp. 158-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Yung-Yen Ko ◽

Shang-Yi Hsu ◽

Cheng-Hsing Chen

Keyword(s):

Seismic Response ◽

Storage Facility ◽

Spent Fuel ◽

Dry Storage

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In-Service Inspection of Extended Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Part I: Crawler Technology Development

10.1115/pvp2021-62058 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ryan M. Meyer ◽

Jeremy Renshaw ◽

Jamie Beard ◽

Jon Tatman ◽

Matt Keene ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Fuel ◽

Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽

Technology Development ◽

Storage System ◽

Dry Storage ◽

Majority Population ◽

The Usa ◽

Extended Operation ◽

Interim Storage ◽

Physical Access

Abstract This paper describes development and demonstration of remote crawling systems to support periodic examinations of interim dry storage system (DSS) canisters for spent nuclear fuel in the USA. Specifically, this work relates to robotic crawler developments for “canister” based DSS systems, which form the majority population of DSSs in the USA for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel. Consideration of potential degradation of the welded stainless-steel canister in these systems is required for continued usage in the period of extended operation (PEO) beyond their initial licensed or certified terms. Challenges with performing the periodic examinations are associated with physical access to the canister surface, which is constrained due to narrow annulus spaces between the canister and the overpack, tortuous entry pathways, and high temperatures and radiation doses that can be damaging to materials and electronics. Motivations for performing periodic examinations and developing robotic crawlers for performing those examinations remotely will be presented, and several activities to demonstrate robotic crawlers for different DSS systems are summarized.

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Inservice Inspection of Extended Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Part II: NDE/Sensor Technology Development and Codification

10.1115/pvp2021-62069 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ryan M. Meyer ◽

Jeremy Renshaw ◽

Kenn Hunter ◽

Mike Orihuela ◽

Jim Stadler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Fuel ◽

Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽

Technology Development ◽

Storage System ◽

Sensor Technology ◽

Nondestructive Examination ◽

Dry Storage ◽

Safety Function ◽

Majority Population ◽

The Usa

Abstract This paper describes development and demonstration of nondestructive examination (NDE) technologies to support periodic examinations of interim dry storage system (DSS) canisters for spent nuclear fuel in the USA to verify continued safe operation and that the canister confinement is intact and performing its intended safety function. Specifically, this work relates to NDE technology development for “canister” based DSS systems, which form the majority population of DSSs in the USA for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel. Consideration of potential degradation of the welded stainless-steel canister in these systems is required for continued usage in the period of extended operation (PEO) beyond the initial license or certified term. Physical access to the canister surface is constrained due to narrow annulus spaces between the canister and the overpack, tortuous entry pathways, and high temperatures and radiation doses that can be damaging to materials and electronics related to inspections. Several activities to demonstrate NDE technologies for the inspections of different DSS systems are summarized.

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