• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.49 no.7
• /
• pp.1563-1570
• /
• 2017

In order to perform dry interim storage and transportation of the spent-fuel assemblies of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, dual-purpose casks can be utilized. The effectiveness of different neutron-shield materials for the dual-purpose cask was analyzed through a set of calculations carried out using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) code. The dose rate for the dual-purpose cask utilizing the recently developed materials of $epoxy/clay/B_4C$ and $epoxy/clay/B_4C/carbon$ fiber was less than the allowable radiation level of 2 mSv/h at any point and 0.1 mSv/h at 2 m from the external surface of the cask. By utilization of $epoxy/clay/B_4C$ instead of an ethylene glycol/water mixture, the dose rates on the side surface of the cask due to neutron sources and consequent secondary gamma rays will be reduced by 17.5% and 10%, respectively. The overall dose rate in this case will be reduced by 11%.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.148-154
• /
• 1985

Radiation shield design for a shipping cask, KSC-1, was evaluated to verify that the cask can be used in the transportation of a spent fuel assembly discharged from KNU 5 & 6. Radiation source term of the spent fuel assembly was calculated with the computer program ORIGEN-79, QAD-CG, ANISN-KA and DOT 3.5 codes Were used in the shielding calculations and the nuclear cross section data needed was extracted from the DLC-23/CASK library. It is concluded that KSC-1 shipping cask satisfies the requirements specified in the relevant regulations under normal conditions of transport and under accident conditions in transport.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.319-326
• /
• 2008

To transport process wastes efficiently from the Advanced Spent Fuel Conditioning Pyro-process Facility (ACPF) at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), a new hot cell cask has been designed based on an existing hot cell padirac transport cask, with not only a neutron absorber for improved shielding capability, but also a docking facility for an easy docking system. In the new hot cell cask, two kinds of materials have been considered as shielding materials, polyethylene and resin. To verify the transport compatibility of the waste and spent fuel for the ACPF, neutron and photon shielding calculations were performed using the MCNPX code. The source term was evaluated by the ORIGEN-ARP code system based on spent PWR fuel. From the calculation, it was found that the maximum surface dose rates of the hot cell cask with the two candidates were estimated within the limit (2 mSv/hr).

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.411-422
• /
• 2016

Recently, because the wet pool storage facilities of NPPs in Korea has become saturated, there has been much active R&D on an interim dry storage system using a transportation and storage cask. Generally, the shielding evaluation for the design of a spent fuel transportation and storage cask is performed by the design basis fuel, which selects the most conservative fuel among the fuels to be loaded into the cask. However, the loading of actual spent fuel into the transportation metal cask is not limited to the design basis fuel used in the shielding evaluation; the loading feasibility of actual spent fuel is determined by the shielding evaluation that considers the characteristics of the initial enrichment, the maximum burnup and the minimum cooling period. This study describes a shielding analysis method for determining the minimum cooling period of spent fuel that meets the domestic transportation standard of the dual purpose metal cask. In particular, the spent fuel of 3.0~4.5wt% initial enrichment, which has a large amount of release, was evaluated by segmented shielding calculations for efficient improvement of the results. The shielding evaluation revealed that about 81% of generated spent fuel from the domestic nuclear power plants until 2008 could be transported by the dual purpose metal cask. The results of this study will be helpful in establishing a technical basis for developing operating procedures for transportation of the dual purpose metal cask.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.143-148
• /
• 2007

Spent nuclear fuel generated at nuclear power plants must be safely stored during interim storage periods. A dry storage cask to safely store the spent nuclear fuel should be able to adequately emit the decay heat from the spent nuclear fuel. Therefore, heat removal tests using a half scale dry storage cask have been performed to estimate the heat transfer characteristics of a dry storage cask under normal, off-normal, and accident conditions. In the normal condition, the heat transfer rate to an ambient atmosphere by convective air through a passive heat removal system reached 83%. Accordingly, the passive heat removal system is designed well and works adequately. In the off-normal condition, the influence of a half blockage in the inlet on the temperature appears minimal. In the accident condition, the temperature rose for 12 hours after the accident, but the temperature rise steadied after 36 hours.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.65-70
• /
• 1988

A Shielding analysis of the shipping cask designed conceptually, of which shielding material are lead and resin, for containing 4 PWR spent fuel assemblies, has been made with the help of a computer code, ANISN. The shielding materials being used in the cask have been selected and arranged to minimize cask weight while maintaining an overall shielding effectiveness. Radiation source terms have been calculated by means of ORIGIN-2 code under the assumptions of 38,000 MWD/MTU burnup and 3-year cooling time. A calculation of gamma-ray and neutron dose rates on the cask surface and 1m from the surface has been done. It is revealed that the total dose rates under the normal transport and hypothetical accident conditions meet the standards specified.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.13-22
• /
• 2004

This study presents the thermal analyses of a spent fuel dry storage cask under normal and off-normal conditions. The environmental temperature is assumed to be 15 $^{\circ}C$ under the normal condition. The off-normal condition has an environmental temperature of 38 $^{\circ}C$. An additional off-normal condition is considered as a partial blockage of the air inlet ducts. Two of the four air inlet ducts are assumed to be completely blocked. The significant thermal design feature of the storage cask is the air flow path used to remove the decay heat from the spent fuel. Natural circulation of the air inside the cask allows the concrete and fuel cladding temperatures to be maintained below the allowable values. The finite volume computational fluid dynamics code FLUENT was used for the thermal analysis. The maximum temperatures of the fuel rod and concrete overpack were lower than the allowable values under the normal and off-normal conditions.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.35-44
• /
• 2016

Leading national R&D project to design a PWR spent nuclear fuel interim dry storage system that has been under development since mid-2009, which consists of a dual purpose metal cask and concrete storage cask. To ensure the safe operation of dry storage systems in foreign countries, major confinement monitoring techniques currently consist of pressure and temperature measurement. In the case of a dual purpose metal cask, a pressure sensor is installed in the interspace of bolted double lid(primary and secondary lid) in order to measure pressure. A concrete storage cask is a canister based system made of double/redundant welded lid to ensure confinement integrity. For this reason, confinement monitoring method is real time temperature measurement by thermocouple placed in the air flow(air intake and exit) of the concrete structure(over pack and module). The use of various monitoring technologies and operating experiences for the interim dry storage system over the last decades in foreign countries were analyzed. On the basis of the analysis above, development of the confinement monitoring technology that can be used optimally in our system will be available in the near future.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.395-405
• /
• 2020

Compartment fire tests were performed using kerosene and Jet A-1 as fire sources to evaluate the relationship between flame temperature and opening size. The tests were performed for a fire caused by the release of kerosene owing to vehicle impact, and for a fire caused by the release of Jet-A-1 owing to airplane collision. The compartment fire tests were performed using a 1/3-scale model of a metal storage cask when the flame temperature was deemed to be the highest. We found the combustion time of Jet-A-1 to be shorter than that of kerosene, and consequently, the flame temperature of Jet-A-1 was measured to be higher than that of kerosene. When the opening was installed on the compartment roof, even though the area of the opening was small, the ventilation factor was large, resulting in a high flame temperature and long combustion. Therefore, the position of the opening is a crucial factor that affects the flame temperature. When the metal storage cask was stored in the compartment, the flame temperature decreased proportionally with the energy that the metal storage cask received from the flame.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.271-279
• /
• 2018

During the seven years from 2009 to 2016, PWR SNF (spent nuclear fuel) transportation and storage systems suitable for domestic conditions were developed by the government to cope with the saturation of wet storage capacity in NPPs. One of the developed systems is a multipurpose metal cask applicable for transportation/storage; the other is a concrete cask dedicated to storage. Efficient cask technologies were secured utilizing the characteristics and experience of relevant industrial, academic and research institutes. Technological independence was also achieved through several patent registrations of research outcomes. To prepare for a rapid increase of demand in the near future, technology transfer of secured patents and technologies to the domestic industry was carried out twice in the years of 2016 and 2017.