Program for the development of technology for safe shipment of spent fuel from commercial liquid metal fast breeder reactors in the United States

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7247278

Freedman, J M; Pope, R B

The recently started Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) Spent Fuel Shipping Cask Technology Program is described, and the technology areas are discussed. The ultimate goal of the program is to provide a verified technology which will allow spent fuel to be shipped from commercial LMFBR's to reprocessors in an economic and safe manner. Technology areas being addressed include: heat transfer within and external to the cask; coolant interaction with structural materials and coolant degradation during shipment; seals and energy mitigation systems; overall materials compatibility, corrosion, structural crack propagation, fabricability, and cost; nondestructive methods of evaluating casks both during fabrication and useful life cycle; characterization of the spent fuel to establish cladding integrity and fission product mobility; and neutron and gamma shielding. Concurrently, a route hazard and environmental study will provide descriptions of the anticipated accident environments, thereby furnishing guidance for the cask design, and eventually permitting the risk of LMFBR spent fuel shipments to be assessed. This activity will improve the transportation safety of spent LMFBR fuel as well as spent LWR fuel and other high-level radioactive materials.

• Research Organization: Sandia Labs., Albuquerque, N.Mex. (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AT(29-1)-789
• OSTI ID: 7247278
• Report Number(s): SAND-76-5389; CONF-760813-5; IAEA-SR-10/16
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
BREEDER REACTORS
COOLANTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY TRANSFER
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FUELS
HEAT TRANSFER
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FUELS
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
SPENT FUELS
TRANSPORT
USA