Experimental program to determine maximum temperatures for dry storage of spent fuel
Although air is used as a cover gas in some dry storage facilities, other facilities use inert cover gases which must be monitored to assure inertness of the atmosphere. Thus qualifying air as a cover gas is attractive for the dry storage of spent fuels. At sufficiently high temperatures, air can react with spent fuel (UO/sub 2/) at the site of cladding breaches that formed during reactor irradiation or during dry storage. The reaction rate is temperature dependent; hence the rates can be maintained at acceptable levels if temperatures are low. Tests with spent fuel are being conducted at Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) to determine the allowable temperatures for storage of spent fuel in air. Tests performed with nonirradiated UO/sub 2/ pellets indicated that moisture, surface condition, gamma radiation, gadolinia content of the fuel pellet, and temperature are important variables. Tests were then initiated on spent fuel to develop design data under simulated dry storage conditions. Tests have been conducted at 200 and 230/sup 0/C on spent fuel in air and 275/sup 0/C in moist nitrogen. The results for nonirradiated UO/sub 2/ and published data for irradiated fuel indicate that above 230/sup 0/C, oxidation rates are unacceptably high for extended storage in air. The tests with spent fuel will be continued for approximately three years to enable reliable extrapolations to be made for extended storage in air and inert gases with oxidizing constituents. 6 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 5873732
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-SA-12587; CONF-850314-57; ON: DE85010307
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Handling
& Storage
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
AIR
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DATA
DRY STORAGE
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLUIDS
FUELS
GASES
HIGH TEMPERATURE
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
REACTOR MATERIALS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
SPENT FUELS
STORAGE
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM DIOXIDE
URANIUM OXIDES