Segmented Spent Fuel Cask for Heat and Weight Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional transfer casks for spent nuclear fuel are inadequate for handling high decay heat generation rates and are constrained by crane capacity and spatial limitations, requiring inefficient and costly measures to manage the weight and size of the fuel canisters during loading and transport.
Innovation Solution
A multi-component transfer cask system comprising a detachable outer neutron shield container and inner gamma blocker container, where the inner container is designed with high thermal conductivity materials for gamma radiation blocking and the outer container provides neutron shielding, allowing for staged loading and reduced weight during lifting, utilizing natural convective air flow for heat rejection and adjustable water or air ventilation for enhanced performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional transfer cask design with permanently incorporated neutron shielding and gamma blocking materials is used, then excellent heat conduction and gamma radiation shielding capabilities are achieved, but neutron capture capability is modest and crane capacity requirements are excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer cask is divided into separable components: an inner cask body containing gamma-blocking materials and an outer jacket containing neutron-shielding materials. These components can be assembled or separated based on operational requirements, allowing the system to achieve full shielding capability when needed while reducing weight for transport when the outer jacket is removed.
Solution Approach 2:
The cask design transitions from a static, permanently assembled structure to a dynamic, reconfigurable system. The outer jacket is designed to be removable and reattachable, enabling the cask to adapt its configuration based on whether full radiation shielding is required during fuel loading operations or whether reduced weight is needed for transport.
2Quantity of substance
If traditional large-sized high-capacity transfer cask is used, then full storage capacity can be loaded, but spatial constraints prevent placement in limited cask loading areas
Solution Approach 1:
The cask system is segmented into an inner cask body that can be handled and positioned independently, and an outer jacket that provides additional shielding and structural support. This segmentation allows the inner cask body to be maneuvered into confined loading areas where space is limited, while the outer jacket can be added afterward if full shielding capability is required.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe and efficient transport and storage of spent nuclear fuel by optimizing shielding and heat management within spatial and crane capacity constraints, reducing the need for multiple canisters and minimizing operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
Effective gamma radiation shielding requires very dense materials, such as lead or others
Implementation Method 2
Neutron radiation may be effectively attenuated with metallic and polymeric shielding materials typically containing boron
Implementation Method 3
utilizing natural convective air flow for heat rejection
Data Source
AI summary
A separable multi-component cask for spent nuclear fuel transport and storage includes a vertically elongated outer cylinder having a neutron radiation shielding composition and a vertically elongated inner cylinder having a gamma radiation blocking composition. The inner cylinder includes a cavity configured to hold a spent nuclear fuel canister. The inner cylinder is detachably mounted and nested inside a cavity of the outer cylinder and is separable therefrom during spent fuel cask loading operations in a staged manner. An air ventilation annulus formed between the first and second cylinders forms a heat removal passage to remove heat emitted by the radioactive canister when placed inside the second cylinder. A pair of removably coupled mating top flanges on the inner and outer cylinders supports and suspends the inner cylinder in a cantilevered manner, thereby allowing the directly heated inner cylinder to thermally expand to a greater degree than the outer cylinder.