Critical Safe Disposal of Spent Fuel: Behavior of Neutron Poisons
- Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut fuer Nukleare Entsorgung - INE, Karlsruhe (Germany)
- Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit - GRS, Garching (Germany)
In contrast to Yucca Mountain, European repository concepts rely on deep underground conditions which guarantee permanently a reducing geochemical environment. As long as no water comes into contact with the disposed nuclear fuel, criticality is excluded by compliance with the disposal conditions (limitation of U/Pu in the canisters). Penetration of water into the canister may also be considered as a scenario. However, water in a disposal results in geochemical reactions proceeding over very long periods of time: (1) Presence of water allows the corrosion of the steel of the canister material forming hydrogen and iron corrosion products. (2) Hydrogen pressures affect the zircaloy cladding even at low temperatures. Failure of fuel cladding and spacers leads to changes in the geometrical configuration. (3) UO{sub 2} matrix corrosion results in geochemically controlled reformation of secondary phase. (4) Even if the dissolution rate of UO{sub 2} is low, elements accounting for burnup credit do not behave similar as uranium. Geochemical reactions are analyzed in detail and compositions are presented which have a high probability to be formed in the long-term needing to be analyzed with respect to K{sub eff}. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 20979718
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Advanced nuclear fuel cycles and systems (GLOBAL 2007), Boise - Idaho (United States), 9-13 Sep 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 28 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of GLOBAL 2007 conference on advanced nuclear fuel cycles and systems, 1873 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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