Fuel-assembly behavior under dynamic impact loads due to dry-storage cask mishandling

Technical Report · Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5431445

Continued operation of nuclear power plants is contingent on the ability to provide adequate storage of spent fuel. Until recently, utilities have been able to maintain interim in-pool spent fuel storage. However, many facilities have reached their capacity and are now faced with shipping their spent fuel in dry casks to alternate storage facilities. The objective of this report is to provide estimates of the structural integrity of irradiated LWR fuel rods subjected to impact loads resulting from postulated cask handling accidents. This is accomplished in five stages: (1) Material properties for irradiated fuel are compiled for use in the structural analyses. (2) Results from parametric analyses of representative assembly designs are used to determine the most limiting case for end and side drop postulated handling accidents. (3) Detailed structural analysis results are presented for these critical designs. The detailed analyses include the coupling of assembly interaction with the cask and cask internals. (4) Criteria for both ultimate stress and brittle fracture failure modes of fuel rod cladding are established. (5) Safe cask handling drop height limits are computed based on items 2 through 4 above. 44 figs., 18 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); ABB/Combustion Engineering, Inc., Windsor, CT (United States); ANATECH Research Corp., San Diego, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI; Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5431445
• Report Number(s): EPRI-NP-7419; TRN: 91-024114
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
42 ENGINEERING
SPENT FUEL CASKS
DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
ACCIDENTS
DRY STORAGE
DYNAMIC LOADS
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
STRESSES
CASKS
CONTAINERS
MATERIALS TESTING
STORAGE
TESTING
050900* - Nuclear Fuels- Transport
Handling
& Storage
420204 - Engineering- Shipping Containers