Developing and Qualifying Parameters for Closure Welding Overpacks Containing Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel at Hanford
- Hanford Site, Richland, WA (United States)
Fluor engineers developed a Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) technique and parameters, demonstrated requisite weld quality, and successfully closure-welded packaged spent nuclear fuel (SNF) overpacks at the Hanford Site. This paper reviews weld development and qualification activities associated with the overpack closure-welding and provides a summary of the production campaign. The primary requirement of the closure weld is to provide leak-tight confinement of the packaged material against release to the environment during interim storage (40-year design term). Required weld quality, in this case, was established through up-front development and qualification, and then verification of parameter compliance during production welding. This approach was implemented to allow for a simpler overpack design and more efficient production operations than possible with approaches using routine post-weld testing and nondestructive examination (NDE). A series of welding trials were conducted to establish the desired welding technique and parameters. Qualification of the process included statistical evaluation and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section IX testing. In addition, pull testing with a weighted mockup, and thermal calculation/physical testing to identify the maximum temperature the packaged contents would be subject to during welding, was performed. Thirteen overpacks were successfully packaged and placed into interim storage. The closure-welding development activities (including pull testing and thermal analysis) provided the needed confidence that the packaged SNF overpacks could be safely handled and placed into interim storage, and remain leak-tight for the duration of the storage term. (author)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21326020
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-10-WM-08017; TRN: US10V0342067385
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM'08: Waste Management Symposium 2008 - HLW, TRU, LLW/ILW, Mixed, Hazardous Wastes and Environmental Management - Phoenix Rising: Moving Forward in Waste Management, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 2008; Other Information: Country of input: France; 1 ref
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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