Encapsulation of Defective Fuel Rods for Transport and Dry Storage - 18190
- New AREVA, AREVA TN (France)
- New AREVA (France)
- Framatome, 1 place Jean Millier, Tour Areva, 92400 Courbevoie (France)
Removing of the whole inventory of fissile and non-fissile material out of the spent fuel pool is performed when the power plant is about to start its last operation phases or may occur during the extended operating life cycle due to plant storage space limitation. Removal of defective spent fuel is then definitely required for emptying the pool and may in addition also be performed in the course of plant operation for reducing pool contamination. Depending on the general used fuel management solution chosen for post-storage pool operations, specific management of a defective fuel assembly (DFA) and/or a defective fuel rod (DFR) should be implemented accordingly to the regulation requirements to be followed. For meeting these DFA and/or DFR management needs, Framatome together with New AREVA offer wide portfolio of solutions with flexibility and adaptability advantages: - from simple to advanced technologies; - for several types of fuel assemblies and/or defective rods; - for suitable and compatible cask designs; - for compatible solution with both used fuel final management strategies (closed and open fuel cycles). For instance, a technology is jointly proposed and developed by New AREVA and Framatome for implementing dry storage of DFR. It consists in: - encapsulating each DFR by loading the fuel rod in a respective capsule, drying the fuel rod using a process which allows to physically verify with high accuracy the dryness inside the DFR, and seal welding the capsule - assembling the capsules in a capsule canister (a skeleton with external dimensions similar to a respective fuel assembly) and - transferring the capsule canister along with intact spent fuel assemblies in an associated dry transport and storage (dual purpose) cask. Such a project is currently being implemented in Belgium. After successfully obtaining the cask transport and storage license extensions for including the encapsulated DFR content, the first encapsulation campaign has been started in 2017. The purpose of the paper is to present the industrial solutions proposed by Framatome and New AREVA together, for management of DFR, notably the one related to dry storage of encapsulated DFR implemented in Belgium and the perspectives opened by this successful project. The paper presents: - the available solutions for management of DFA and/or DFR depending on applicable requirements - the drying method, welding of a capsule and associated cask as the state of art technology for dry storage of DFR and/or DFA; - lessons learned from project management and encapsulation campaign performed in Belgium; - perspectives for management of DFR and/or DFA. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22975368
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-20-WM-18190; TRN: US21V0181015410
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2018: 44. Annual Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 18-22 Mar 2018; Other Information: Country of input: France; 5 refs.; Available online at: https://www.xcdsystem.com/wmsym/2018/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Solutions for management of defective fuel assemblies - 15318
Safety Aspects of Dry Spent Fuel Storage and Spent Fuel Management - 13559
Related Subjects
AREVA NC
BELGIUM
CONTAMINATION
DEFECTS
DRY STORAGE
ENCAPSULATION
FRANCE
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
FUEL MANAGEMENT
FUEL RODS
FUEL STORAGE POOLS
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
REACTOR OPERATION
SPENT FUEL CASKS
WASTE TRANSPORTATION