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High Level Gap Analysis for Accident Tolerant and Advanced Fuels for Storage and Transportation

Honnold, Philip H.; Montgomery, Rose M.; Billone, Mike B.; Hanson, Brady D.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.

This initial gap analysis considers proposed accident tolerant fuel (ATF) options currently being irradiated in commercial reactors, since these are most likely for future batch implementation. Also, advanced fuel (AF) options that may be likely for use in advanced reactors are considered. The cladding technologies considered were chromium-coated zirconium-based alloys, FeCrAl, and both monolithic and matrix composite Silicide carbide (SiC). The fuel technologies considered were chromium-doped uranium dioxide fuel, uranium alloys, uranium nitride, and uranium silicide. Numerous national labs, industry, and countries are performing significant testing and modeling on these proposed technologies to establish performance, but at this time none of the prototypes being irradiated have achieved end-of-life (EOL) burnup. There are some testing results after one burnup cycle to verify in-reactor performance, but little data beyond that. As the ATF prototypes acquire more burnup, data will be produced that is relevant to storage and transportation. The DOE:NE Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology (SWFST) Storage and Transportation (ST) Control Account will evaluate the performance data as it becomes available for application to the identified gaps for ST.

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TYPE SAND Report YEAR 2021
OSTIDOI

30 CM horizontal drop of a surrogate 17x17 pwr fuel assembly

American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Pressure Vessels and Piping Division (Publication) PVP

Kalinina, Elena A.; Ammerman, Douglas J.; Grey, Carissa A.; Flores, Gregg J.; Lujan, Lucas; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.; Michel, Danielle M.

The 30 cm drop is the remaining NRC normal conditions of transport (NCT) regulatory requirement (10 CFR 71.71) for which there are no data on the response of spent fuel. While obtaining data on the spent fuel is not a direct requirement, it allows for quantifying the risk of fuel breakage resulting from a cask drop from a height of 30 cm or less. Because a full-scale cask and impact limiters are very expensive, 3 consecutive drop tests were conducted to obtain strains on a full-scale surrogate 17x17 PWR assembly. The first step was a 30 cm drop of a 1/3 scale cask loaded with dummy assemblies. The second step was a 30 cm drop test of a full-scale dummy assembly. The third step was a 30 cm drop of a full-scale surrogate assembly. The results of this final test are presented in this paper. The test was conducted in May 2020. The acceleration pulses on the surrogate assembly were in good agreement with the expected pulses derived from steps 1 and 2. This confirmed that during the 30 cm drop the surrogate assembly experienced the same conditions as it would have if it had been dropped in a full-scale cask with impact limiters. The surrogate assembly was instrumented with 27 strain gauges. Pressure paper was inserted between the rods within the two long and two short spacer grid spans in order to register the pressure in case of rod-to-rod contact. The maximum observed peak strain on the surrogate assembly was 1,724 microstrain at the bottom end of the assembly. The pressure paper sheets from the two short spans were blank. The pressure paper sheets from the two long spans, except a few middle ones, showed marks indicating rod-to-rod contact. The maximum estimated contact pressure was 4,100 psi. The longitudinal bending stress corresponding to the maximum observed strain value (calculated from the stress-strain curve for low burnup cladding) was 22,230 psi. Both values are significantly below the yield strength of the cladding. The major conclusion is that the fuel rods will maintain their integrity following a 30 cm drop inside of a transportation cask.

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TYPE Conference Presenation YEAR 2021
ScopusOSTIDOI

Full-Scale Assembly 30 cm Drop Test

MRS Advances

Kalinina, Elena A.; Ammerman, Douglas J.; Grey, Carissa A.; Flores, Gregg J.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.; Klymyshyn, Nicholas

Can Spent Nuclear Fuel withstand the shocks and vibrations experienced during normal conditions of transport? This question was the motivation for the multi-modal transportation test (MMTT) (Summer 2017), 1/3-scale cask 30 cm drop test (December 2018), and full-scale assembly 30 cm drop tests (June 2019). The full-scale ENSA ENUN 32P cask with 3 surrogate 17x17 PWR assemblies was used in the MMTT. The 1/3-scale cask was a mockup of this cask. The 30 cm drop tests provided the accelerations on the 1/3-scale dummy assemblies. These data were used to design full-scale assembly drop tests with the goal to quantify the strain fuel rods experience inside a cask when dropped from a height of 30 cm. The drop tests were first done with the dummy and then with the surrogate assembly. This paper presents the preliminary results of the tests.

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TYPE Conference Poster YEAR 2020
ScopusOSTIDOI

Gap Analysis to Guide DOE R&D in Supporting Extended Storage and Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel: An FY2019 Assessment (Final Report)

Teague, Melissa C.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.; Hanson, Brady D.; Sorenson, Ken B.; Freeze, Geoffrey A.

This report is a condensed version of previous reports identifying technical gaps that, if addressed, could be used to ensure the continued safe storage of SNF for extended periods and support licensing activities. This report includes updated gap priority assessments because the previous gap priorities were based on R&D performed through 2017. Much important work has been done since 2017 that requires a change in a few of the priority rankings to better focus the near-term R&D program. Background material, regulatory positions, operational and inventory status, and prioritization schemes are discussed in detail in Hanson et al. (2012) and Hanson and Alsaed (2019) and are not repeated in this report. One exception is an overview of the prioritization criteria for reference. This is meant to give the reader an appreciation of the framework for prioritization of the identified gaps. A complete discussion of the prioritization scheme is provided in Hanson and Alsaed (2019).

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TYPE Other Report YEAR 2019
OSTIDOI

30 cm Drop Tests

Kalinina, Elena A.; Ammerman, Douglas J.; Grey, Carissa A.; Arviso, Michael A.; Wright, Catherine W.; Lujan, Lucas A.; Flores, Gregg J.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.

The data from the multi-modal transportation test conducted in 2017 demonstrated that the inputs from the shock events during all transport modes (truck, rail, and ship) were amplified from the cask to the spent commercial nuclear fuel surrogate assemblies. These data do not support common assumption that the cask content experiences the same accelerations as the cask itself. This was one of the motivations for conducting 30 cm drop tests. The goal of the 30 cm drop test is to measure accelerations and strains on the surrogate spent nuclear fuel assembly and to determine whether the fuel rods can maintain their integrity inside a transportation cask when dropped from a height of 30 cm. The 30 cm drop is the remaining NRC normal conditions of transportation regulatory requirement (10 CFR 71.71) for which there are no data on the actual surrogate fuel. Because the full-scale cask and impact limiters were not available (and their cost was prohibitive), it was proposed to achieve this goal by conducting three separate tests. This report describes the first two tests — the 30 cm drop test of the 1/3 scale cask (conducted in December 2018) and the 30 cm drop of the full-scale dummy assembly (conducted in June 2019). The dummy assembly represents the mass of a real spent nuclear fuel assembly. The third test (to be conducted in the spring of 2020) will be the 30 cm drop of the full-scale surrogate assembly. The surrogate assembly represents a real full-scale assembly in physical, material, and mechanical characteristics, as well as in mass.

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TYPE Other Report YEAR 2019
OSTIDOI

Rail-Cask Tests: Normal-Conditionsof- Transport Tests of Surrogate PWR Fuel Assemblies in an ENSA ENUN 32P Cask

McConnell, Paul E.; Ross, Steven B.; Grey, Carissa A.; Uncapher, William L.; Arviso, Michael A.; Garmendia, Rafael Glez.; Fernandez Perez, Ismael F.; Palacio, Alejandro P.; Calleja, Guillermo C.; Garrido, David G.; Rodriguez Casas, Ana R.; Gonzalez Garcia, Luis G.; Chilton, Lyman W.; Ammerman, Douglas J.; Walz, Jacob W.; Gershon, Sabina G.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.; Sorenson, Ken S.; Klymyshyn, Nicholas K.; Hanson, Brady D.; Pena, Ruben P.; Walker, Russell W.

This report describes tests conducted using a full-size rail cask, the ENSA ENUN 32P, involving handling of the cask and transport of the cask via truck, ships, and rail. The purpose of the tests was to measure strains and accelerations on surrogate pressurized water reactor fuel rods when the fuel assemblies were subjected to Normal Conditions of Transport within the rail cask. In addition, accelerations were measured on the transport platform, the cask cradle, the cask, and the basket within the cask holding the assemblies. These tests were an international collaboration that included Equipos Nucleares S.A., Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Coordinadora Internacional de Cargas S.A., the Transportation Technology Center, Inc., the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency, and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. All test results in this report are PRELIMINARY – complete analyses of test data will be completed and reported in FY18. However, preliminarily: The strains were exceedingly low on the surrogate fuel rods during the rail-cask tests for all the transport and handling modes. The test results provide a compelling technical basis for the safe transport of spent fuel.

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TYPE Other Report YEAR 2018
OSTIDOI

Surrogate fuel assembly multi-axis shaker tests to simulate normal conditions of rail and truck transport

McConnell, Paul M.; Koenig, Greg K.; Uncapher, William U.; Grey, Carissa A.; Engelhardt, Charles E.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.; Sorenson, Ken S.

This report describes the third set of tests (the “DCLa shaker tests”) of an instrumented surrogate PWR fuel assembly. The purpose of this set of tests was to measure strains and accelerations on Zircaloy-4 fuel rods when the PWR assembly was subjected to rail and truck loadings simulating normal conditions of transport when affixed to a multi-axis shaker. This is the first set of tests of the assembly simulating rail normal conditions of transport.

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TYPE Other Report YEAR 2016
OSTIDOI

Update on the United States Department of Energy's Used Fuel Disposition R&D Campaign

15th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference 2015, IHLRWM 2015

Swift, Peter N.; Birkholzer, Jens T.; Bragg-Sitton, Shannon; MacKinnon, R.J.; McMahon, Kevin A.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.; Sorenson, Ken B.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting research and development (R&D) activities within the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign to support the implementation of the DOE's 2013 Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste. R&D activities focus on storage, transportation, and disposal of used nuclear fuel (UNF) and wastes generated by existing and future nuclear fuel cycles and are ongoing at nine national laboratories. Additional relevant R&D is conducted at multiple universities through the DOE's Nuclear Energy University Program. Within the storage and transportation areas, R&D continues to focus on technical gaps related to extended storage and subsequent transportation of UNF. Primary emphasis for FY15 is on experimental and analysis activities that support the DOE s dry cask demonstration confirmatory data project initiated at the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant in Virginia by the Electric Power Research Institute in collaboration with AREVA and Dominion Power. Within the disposal research area, current planning calls for a significant increase in R&D associated with evaluating the feasibility of deep borehole disposal of some waste forms, in addition to a continued emphasis on confirming the viability of generic mined disposal concepts in multiple geologic media. International collaborations that allow the U.S. program to benefit from experience and opportunities for research in other nations remain a high priority.

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TYPE Conference Poster YEAR 2015
ScopusOSTI

Update of the Used Fuel Dispositon Campaign Implementation Plan

McMahon, Kevin A.; Bragg-Sitton, Shannon B.; MacKinnon, R.J.; Saltzstein, Sylvia J.; Sorenson, Ken B.; Swift, Peter N.; Birkholzer, Jens T.

This Update to the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign Implementation Plan provides summary level detail describing how the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) supports achievement of the overarching mission and objectives of the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle Technologies Program, building on work completed in this area since 2009. This implementation plan begins with the assumption of target dates that are set out in the January 2013 DOE Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste (http://energy.gov/downloads/strategy-management-and-disposal-used-nuclearfuel- and-high-level-radioactive-waste). These target dates and goals are summarized in section III. This implementation plan will be maintained as a living document and will be updated as needed in response to available funding and progress in the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign and the Fuel Cycle Technologies Program.

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TYPE Other Report YEAR 2014
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134 Results