Design and Structural Safety Evaluation of Canister for Dry Storage System of PWR Spent Nuclear Fuels

• Published in: Journal of nuclear fuel cycle and waste technology (Online) Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 559 - 570
• Main Authors: Lee, Youngoh, Kim, Taehyeon, Lee, Donghee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국방사성폐기물학회 01.12.2023
• Subjects: 원자력공학; Spent nuclear fuel; Canister; Confinement boundary; Dry storage module
• ISSN: 1738-1894; 2288-5471
• DOI: 10.7733/jnfcwt.2023.034

The aim of this study is to ensure the structural integrity of a canister to be used in a dry storage system currently being developed in Korea. Based on burnup and cooling periods, the canister is designed with 24 bundles of spent nuclear fuel stored inside it. It is a cylindrical structure with a height of 4,890 mm, an internal diameter of 1,708 mm, and an inner length of 4,590 mm. The canister lid is fixed with multiple seals and welds to maintain its confinement boundary to prevent the leakage of radioactive waste. The canister is evaluated under different loads that may be generated under normal, off-normal, and accident conditions, and combinations of these loads are compared against the allowable stress thresholds to assess its structural integrity in accordance with NUREG-2215. The evaluation result shows that the stress intensities applied on the canister under normal, off-normal, and accident conditions are below the allowable stress thresholds, thus confirming its structural integrity.