Credible Criticality Safety Margin in the 30B Package with LEU+ UF6 and Hypothetical Water Ingress
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
The commercial nuclear industry is pursuing advancements in fuel and reactor design that increase the uranium enrichment above 5 wt. % 235U. These advancements will necessitate the ability to transport bulk quantities of UF6 at increased enrichments. Currently, the 30B cylinder is the primary container used by the industry for UF6 storage and transportation and has a long history of successful shipments. This container can transport up to 2,277 kg of UF6 at a maximum enrichment of 5 wt. % 235U. Previous evaluations have assessed the potential impact of criticality safety for 30B transport at higher enrichments but assumed moderator intrusion would not require evaluation. Although current regulations allow for the exception of moderator intrusion for UF6 packages through the design and quality control of the package content, this exception is limited to enrichments up to 5 wt. % 235U. Thus, an investigation of moderator intrusion into a 30B cylinder should be performed.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 2541597
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM--2024/3612
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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