Computational fluid dynamics codes were used to analyze some heat transfer aspects of long term dry storage of aluminum-clad research reactor type spent nuclear fuels. A companion experimental program was then performed to benchmark these codes. The experimental studies included separate effects tests on a single MTR fuel assembly mockup to verify the concept of an effective fuel thermal conductivity and integral tests on a short section of a canister containing 4 mockup fuel assemblies. The integral tests on an array consisting of a test canister surrounded by dummy canisters inside a wind tunnel provided prototypical data on canister internal heat transfer and external mixed convection effects in a dry vault. The effects of canister power, backfill gas, air flow, canister orientation, and vacuum conditions were also obtained. Three-dimensional modeling of the canister with combined conduction and convection elucidated the heat transfer mechanisms inside the canister. Excellent agreement of the pretest predictions with the experimental results indicates that these codes represent highly flexible and useful tools for dry storage studies.
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