Dual purpose transport packaging using 'coiled' technology for treatment of spent fuel from first and second units of Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant

AbstractOne of the most complicated tasks in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) transport arises when it is necessary to transport long length SNF without fragmentation. The length of the fuel assemblies for some reactors runs up to 15 m. In these cases the technologies applied for production of ordinary 'short' transport packaging casks (TPC) are ineffective – the greater length results in higher manufacturing costs and essential a reduction in design reliability. Russian Federal Nuclear Center (RFNC-VNIITF, Snezhinsk, Russia) and 'UralKhimMash' (Ekaterinburg) have developed a fundamentally new TPC based on the 'coil vessel' technology. The gist of this technology is in the assembling of cask body from sheet steel coils. Coils are butt welded by a unique weld method where the presence of welded joints does not reduce the whole construction durability. In comparison with a single ply structure, the multiple ply structure of cask walls has significant advantages in strength characteristics, thermophysical properties...