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Title: Thermal evaluation of alternative shipping cask for irradiated experiments

Abstract

Results of a thermal evaluation are provided for a new shipping cask under consideration for transporting irradiated experiments between the test reactor and post-irradiation examination (PIE) facilities. Most of the experiments will be irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), then later shipped to the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) located at the Materials and Fuels Complex for PIE. To date, the General Electric (GE)-2000 cask has been used to transport experiment payloads between these facilities. However, the availability of the GE-2000 cask to support future experiment shipping is uncertain. In addition, the internal cavity of the GE-2000 cask is too short to accommodate shipping the larger payloads. Therefore, an alternate shipping capability is being pursued. The Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, Research Reactor (BRR) cask has been determined to be the best alternative to the GE-2000 cask. An evaluation of the thermal performance of the BRR cask is necessary before proceeding with fabrication of the newly designed cask hardware and the development of handling, shipping and transport procedures. This paper presents the results of the thermal evaluation of the BRR cask loaded with a representative set of fueled and non-fueled payloads. When analyzed with identicalmore » payloads, experiment temperatures were found to be lower with the BRR cask than with the GE-2000 cask. Furthermore, from a thermal standpoint, the BRR cask was found to be a suitable alternate to the GE-2000 cask for shipping irradiated experiment payloads.« less

Authors:
 [1]
  1. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
OSTI Identifier:
1213618
Report Number(s):
INL/JOU-14-32543
Journal ID: ISSN 0029-5450
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC07-05ID14517
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nuclear Technology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 58; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0029-5450
Publisher:
American Nuclear Society (ANS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; irradiated experiments; shipping cask; thermal analysis; vacuum drying

Citation Formats

Guillen, Donna Post. Thermal evaluation of alternative shipping cask for irradiated experiments. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.13182/NT14-62.
Guillen, Donna Post. Thermal evaluation of alternative shipping cask for irradiated experiments. United States. https://doi.org/10.13182/NT14-62
Guillen, Donna Post. Mon . "Thermal evaluation of alternative shipping cask for irradiated experiments". United States. https://doi.org/10.13182/NT14-62. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1213618.
@article{osti_1213618,
title = {Thermal evaluation of alternative shipping cask for irradiated experiments},
author = {Guillen, Donna Post},
abstractNote = {Results of a thermal evaluation are provided for a new shipping cask under consideration for transporting irradiated experiments between the test reactor and post-irradiation examination (PIE) facilities. Most of the experiments will be irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), then later shipped to the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) located at the Materials and Fuels Complex for PIE. To date, the General Electric (GE)-2000 cask has been used to transport experiment payloads between these facilities. However, the availability of the GE-2000 cask to support future experiment shipping is uncertain. In addition, the internal cavity of the GE-2000 cask is too short to accommodate shipping the larger payloads. Therefore, an alternate shipping capability is being pursued. The Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, Research Reactor (BRR) cask has been determined to be the best alternative to the GE-2000 cask. An evaluation of the thermal performance of the BRR cask is necessary before proceeding with fabrication of the newly designed cask hardware and the development of handling, shipping and transport procedures. This paper presents the results of the thermal evaluation of the BRR cask loaded with a representative set of fueled and non-fueled payloads. When analyzed with identical payloads, experiment temperatures were found to be lower with the BRR cask than with the GE-2000 cask. Furthermore, from a thermal standpoint, the BRR cask was found to be a suitable alternate to the GE-2000 cask for shipping irradiated experiment payloads.},
doi = {10.13182/NT14-62},
journal = {Nuclear Technology},
number = 6,
volume = 58,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}