A vacuum drying test program using a mock aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel (Al SNF) assembly was conducted to demonstrate feasibility of drying the Al SNF in a canister.A canister containing an electrically heated mock Al SNF and water was vacuum dried by a 480 VAC skid-mounted liquid ring rotary vacuum pump in series with a blower with an air ejector.Water was loaded into the canister at 15 to 68 9 ml to cover the expected range of residual water inside the canister after underwater loading of irradiated Al SNF.The power input to the mock Al SNF was varied from 0.0 to 14 watts,compared to an estimated decay heat from an Al SNF assembly demonstrated that unheated vacuum drying is feasible for the canisters with Al SNF even at low decay heat levels.The temperature inside the canister did not reach the freezing point because of condensation heat transfer into the canister from the ambient.
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