Comprehensive Transportation Packaging Roadmap for the U.S. High Performance Research Reactor Conversion to Low Enriched Uranium

摘要

The U.S Department of Energy's High Performance Research Reactor (USHPRR) conversion program is developing a low enriched U-Mo fuel as a candidate replacement for the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) fuel currently being used in several U.S. reactors. As part of the effort, a comprehensive packaging and transportation roadmap strategy was developed to ensure the needs and opportunities are comprehensively understood and evaluated. The approach used in developing this packaging and transportation roadmap is considered inclusive-hybrid, where long-term needs and opportunities are fully analyzed based on the integrated USHPRR schedule, encompassing activities currently being performed as well as those planned to be performed in excess of 25 years from now, recognizing that future activities may be subject to change. To also ensure immediate/imminent needs are fully considered and appropriately prioritized, a detailed review of soon to be performed miniplate-1 (MP-1) tests was performed, where the MP-1 test results will provide the analytical results for down selecting the USHPRR base fuel process/product specifications. To accomplish the overall-conversion, shipping of various "fresh" (i.e., both non-irradiated and unspent) materials including coupons, ingots, full size plates and assemblies will be required. Additionally, handling/shipping of post-irradiation fuels and assemblies will be necessary, and include the packaging and transportation activities of post analytical activities. This report describes the detailed MP-1 review.