Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Prototype Stressed-Shell Fuel Isolation Container

摘要

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is conducting and coordinating research into the development of engineered barriers for the disposal of unreprocessed irradiated fuel within a deep, stable geologic vault. In one approach, a containment shell of corrosion-resistant metal is proposed as the principal barrier to radionuclide release, giving a high probability of containment for at least 300 years, thus ensuring isolation of nearly all fission products for their hazardous lives. The simplest concept is the 'stressed-shell' container, designed with sufficient shell thickness to withstand the hydrostatic pressure within a 1000-m-deep disposal vault postulated to have flooded with groundwater. This report describes the design, fabrication, analysis and hydrostatic testing of a full-scale stressed-shell prototype. The report concludes that the deformation and collapse performance of stressed-shell designs, based on short-term mechanical properties be modelled adequately by BOSOR 5, a commercially available stress-strain computer program. If the stressed-shell concept is retained as a viable fuel isolation concept, future analyses should include an assessment of the role of material creep on long-term container performance. (Atomindex citation 15:007097)