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Disposal of Aluminum Based Spent Fuels in a Repository

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

M. R. Louthan ,
N. C. Iyer Jr. ,
R. L. Sindelar  and
H. B. Peacock Jr.
M. R. Louthan
Affiliation:
Materials Technology Section Savannah River Technology Center Aiken, SC, 29808
N. C. Iyer Jr.
Affiliation:
Materials Technology Section Savannah River Technology Center Aiken, SC, 29808
R. L. Sindelar
Affiliation:
Materials Technology Section Savannah River Technology Center Aiken, SC, 29808
H. B. Peacock Jr.
Affiliation:
Materials Technology Section Savannah River Technology Center Aiken, SC, 29808
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Abstract

Aluminum clad fuel and target elements represent approximately 10% of the DOE owned spent nuclear fuels. The uranium in a large fraction of these fuels is highly enriched and is present as uraniumaluminides which are distributed relatively uniformly within an Al-U alloy core. Emerging acceptance criteria are expected to limit the dry storage temperature for aluminum based fuels to approximately 200°C. The rock temperature near the center of a repository may exceed 200°C if the thermal loading approaches 110 kW/acre. This combination may force the placement of canisters containing aluminum based fuels near the repository periphery. The warm, moist environment anticipated at the periphery may provide aggressive conditions for corrosion of the canister and the highly enriched, aluminum based fuels. Peripheral locations may also be the most vulnerable to covert fuel removal operations. Possible consequences of mixing aluminum based fuels with other fuels in a repository are discussed in this paper.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 412: Symposium V – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XIX , 1995 , 91
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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