Thermal Modeling of Advanced Test Reactor Fuel in a Generalized Dry Storage System Under Hypothetical Accident Conditions
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Work was performed to investigate the thermal behavior of a sealed aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel (ASNF) dry storage configuration under hypothetical accident conditions during long-term storage. The considered system consists of a concrete dry storage overpack; a welded over canister, backfilled with argon; and nine Department of Energy (DOE) standardized canisters (DOESCs) loaded with ASNF, backfilled with helium gas. One technical concern associated with the long-term storage of ASNF includes radiolytic hydrogen generation. The yield of large quantities of hydrogen could lead to DOESC over pressurization or a flammable internal atmosphere. While flammability concerns can be resolved by preventing the ingress of oxygen, the canister pressure is partially controlled by the atmosphere temperature. This memorandum summarizes the results of modeling and simulation (M&S) work completed with Star CCM+ (a computational fluid dynamics [CFD] software) considering the thermal effects of a fully engulfing flame and another scenario with the vent ports of the concrete dry storage overpack completely blocked. The goal was to determine the bounding maximum temperature of the DOESC internal atmosphere to evaluate a worst-case pressure scenario, as well as the critical vent port blockage durations.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1993557
- Report Number(s):
- INL/RPT--23-73532-Rev000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Thermal Modeling Aluminum-Clad Spent Fuel Dry Storage Configurations [Slides]
Bounding Pressure and Flammability Evaluations of Aluminum-Clad Spent Nuclear Fuel Department of Energy Standard Canisters