A Viscoelastic Analysis for Spent Pressurized Water Reactor Nuclear Fuel Disposal Canister

가압경수로 고준위폐기물 처분용기에 대한 점탄성 해석

In this paper, a viscoelastic structural analysis for the spent pressurized water reactor(PWR) nuclear fuel disposal canister is carried out to predict the collapse of the canister while the canister is stored in a deep repository for long time. There may exist some subterranean heat in a deep repository while the nuclear fuel disposal canister is stored for long time. Then, a time-dependent viscoelastic structural deformation may occur in the canister due to the subterrnean heat Hence, the viscoelastic stress variation according to time should be computed to predict the structural strength of the canister. A viscoelastic material model is adopted. Analysis results show that even though some subterrnean heat may exist for quite a long time, the canister structure still endures stresses below the yield strength of the canister. Hence, some subterranean heat cannot seriously affect the structural strength of the canister.