Heat transfer analysis of the geologic disposal of spent fuel and high-level waste storage canisters

Conference · Fri Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:5114073

Allen, G K

Near-field temperatures resulting from the storage of high-level waste canisters and spent unreprocessed fuel assembly canisters in geologic formations were determined. Preliminary design of the repository was modeled for a heat transfer computer code, HEATING5, which used the Crank-Nicolson finite difference method to evaluate transient heat transfer. The heat transfer system was evaluated with several two- and three-dimensional models which transfer heat by a combination of conduction, natural convention, and radiation. Physical properties of the materials in the model were based upon experimental values for the various geologic formations. The effects of canister spacing, fuel age, and use of an overpack were studied for the analysis of the spent fuel canisters; salt, granite, and basalt were considered as the storage media for spent fuel canisters. The effects of canister diameter and use of an overpack were studied for the analysis of the high-level waste canisters; salt was considered as the only storage media for high-level waste canisters. Results of the studies on spent fuel assembly canisters showed that the canisters could be stored in salt formations with a maximum heat loading of 134 kw/acre without exceeding the temperature limits set for salt stability. The use of an overpack had little effect on the peak canister temperatures. When the total heat load per acre decreased, the peak temperatures reached in the geologic formations decreased; however, the time to reach the peak temperatures increased. Results of the studies on high-level waste canisters showed that an increased canister diameter will increase the canister interior temperatures considerably; at a constant areal heat loading, a 381 mm diameter canister reached almost a 50/sup 0/C higher temperature than a 305 mm diameter canister. An overpacked canister caused almost a 30/sup 0/C temperature rise in either case.

• Research Organization: Atomics International Div., Richland, WA (USA). Rockwell Hanford Operations
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-77RL01030
• OSTI ID: 5114073
• Report Number(s): RHO-SA-160; CONF-801102-28
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
42 ENGINEERING
420204 -- Engineering-- Shipping Containers
510400 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Thermal Effluents Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AGE DEPENDENCE
BASALT
COMPUTER CODES
CONTAINERS
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY TRANSFER
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GRANITES
H CODES
HEAT TRANSFER
HIGH TEMPERATURE
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
IGNEOUS ROCKS
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PLUTONIC ROCKS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REACTOR MATERIALS
ROCKS
SALT DEPOSITS
SPACE DEPENDENCE
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
SPENT FUELS
STORAGE
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
THEORETICAL DATA
TIME DEPENDENCE
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
VOLCANIC ROCKS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES