Canisters for PCDP (Prototypical Consolidation Demonstration Program) consolidated fuel

Through its Prototypical Consolidation Demonstration Program (PCDP), the US Department of Energy (DOE) is developing fuel consolidation equipment to reduce the storage volume required in national storage facilities, i.e., the geologic repositories. The equipment will be tested at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) during 1990 and 1991, using hot spent-fuel assemblies obtained form utilities. The resulting consolidated fuel canisters will subsequently be stored at INEL in large dry-storage casks. This paper briefly discusses the national canister development efforts and the canisters that have been used for US consolidation efforts to date. It then focuses on the consolidated fuel canisters under development for the PCDP.