Decay Heat Code Validation Activities at ORNL: Supporting Expansion of NRC Regulatory Guide 3.54

Conference · Wed Nov 14 04:00:00 EST 2001

OSTI ID:788725

Gauld, I. C. ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); ORNL

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has a long history of involvement in the development and validation of the ORIGEN series of isotope summation codes and nuclear data libraries, widely recognized and used to predict the decay heat for spent nuclear fuel. In particular, the ORIGEN-S code, the depletion/decay module of the SCALE code system, has been extensively validated using experimental isotopic assay data and decay heat measurements for commercial spent fuel. This work was used in the development of the technical basis for NRC Regulatory Guide 3.54 on spent fuel decay heat. The bulk of the experimental data used to validate spent fuel decay heat predictions are from programs of the 1970s and 1980s and consequently involve older-design fuel assemblies with a relatively low enrichment and burnup. This has led to a situation where the spent fuel now being discharged from operating reactors extends well beyond the regime of the experimental data and area of code applicability based on the data. The absence of validation data for modern fuel designs has potentially serious consequences for decay heat predictions in terms of added safety factors to account for larger uncertainties and lower volumetric transport and storage capacities.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 788725
• Report Number(s): P01-111200
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
BURNUP
Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
DECAY
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
NUCLEAR FUELS
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
ORIGEN-S Code
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
REGULATORY GUIDES
SAFETY
SCALE Code System
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
SPENT FUELS
Spent Nuclear Fuel
Swedish Waste Management Company (SKB)
TRANSPORT
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
US NRC
VALIDATION