Storage of LWR spent fuel in air: Volume 1: Design and operation of a spent fuel oxidation test facility
This report describes the design and operation and technical accomplishments of a spent-fuel oxidation test facility at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The objective of the experiments conducted in this facility was to develop a data base for determining spent-fuel dry storage temperature limits by characterizing the oxidation behavior of light-water reactor (LWR) spent fuels in air. These data are needed to support licensing of dry storage in air as an alternative to spent-fuel storage in water pools. They are to be used to develop and validate predictive models of spent-fuel behavior during dry air storage in an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The present licensed alternative to pool storage of spent fuel is dry storage in an inert gas environment, which is called inerted dry storage (IDS). Licensed air storage, however, would not require monitoring for maintenance of an inert-gas environment (which IDS requires) but does require the development of allowable temperature limits below which UO/sub 2/ oxidation in breached fuel rods would not become a problem. Scoping tests at PNL with nonirradiated UO/sub 2/ pellets and spent-fuel fragment specimens identified the need for a statistically designed test matrix with test temperatures bounding anticipated maximum acceptable air-storage temperatures. This facility was designed and operated to satisfy that need. 7 refs.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6772918
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-6640-Vol.1; ON: DE89006696; TRN: 89-003734
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
BWR TYPE REACTORS
SPENT FUELS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
OXIDATION
AIR
DATA BASE MANAGEMENT
FUEL PELLETS
FUEL RODS
HOT CELLS
REMOTE HANDLING
REMOTE HANDLING EQUIPMENT
SAMPLE PREPARATION
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
TEST FACILITIES
TESTING
URANIUM DIOXIDE
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
FLUIDS
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUELS
GASES
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
NUCLEAR FUELS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PELLETS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
STORAGE
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM OXIDES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
050900* - Nuclear Fuels- Transport
Handling
& Storage
210100 - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled
210200 - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled