Journal
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
Volume 383, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2021.111435
Keywords
Dry storage cask; Spent fuel; Computational fluid dynamics (CFD); Engineering approach
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This study introduces a simplified method for PCT calculation, which can accurately and quickly estimate the maximum cladding temperature of fuel assemblies, significantly reducing the calculation time. Through application on concrete and metallic casks, the method demonstrates higher efficiency compared to traditional 3D-CFD calculations.
Dry interim storage of spent fuel has expanded significantly; as any other option it should ensure fuel rod integrity under any circumstance. This requires cooling fuel assemblies. Because major degrading mechanisms of cladding are influenced by temperature, the threshold conditions selected in most regulatory requirements is based on Peak Cladding Temperature (PCT). This paper proposes a calculation route of PCT free of the high complexity of fluid-dynamics and the long computing time burden. Based on heat transfer equations applied over conceptually suitable systems, a thermal resistance scheme is set and solved, resulting in fast and accurate estimates. Both features would enable this methodology to be coupled with fuel performance codes without overloading each single thermo-mechanical calculation. The performance of the method is illustrated through its application to a concrete and a metallic cask, both under steady and transient conditions. When compared to results from 3D-CFD calculations, the deviations observed in the PCT estimates are lower than 5%, and the time calculation saving has been estimated to be about 105 times faster. This method is planned to be extended to other variables like the minimum temperature in the cask, of utmost importance to estimate the ductile-to-brittle transition of cladding materials.
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