• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 2004

In this paper, a structural analysis for the pressurized water reactor(PWR) spent nuclear fuel disposal canister which is deposited under the 500m deep underground is carried out to predict the creep deformation of the canister while the underground water and swelling bentonite pressure are applied on the canister. Usually the creep deformation may be caused due to the Pressure and the high heat applied to the canister even though additional external loads are not applied to the canister. These creep deformations depend on the time. In this paper, oかy the underground water and bentonite swelling Pressure are considered for the creep deformation analysis of the canister, because the heat distribution inside canister due the spent fuel is not simple and depends on time. A proper creep function is adopted for the creep analysis. The creep analysis is carried out during $10^8$ seconds. The creep analysis results show that the creep strains are very small and these strains occur usually in the lid and bottom of the canister not in the cast iron insert. A much smaller strain is found in the cast iron insert. Hence, the creep deformation doesn't affect the structural safety of the canister, and also the creep stress which shows the stress relaxation phenomenon doesn't affect the structural safety of the canister.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.515-523
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• 2001

In this paper results of a linear structural analysis for design and dimensioning of disposal containers for spent pressurized water reactor nuclear fuel and spent Canadian deuterium and uranium reactor nuclear fuel are presented. The container structure studied here is a solid structure with a cast insert and a corrosion resistant outer shell, which is designed for the spent nuclear fuel disposal in a deep repository. An evenly distributed load of hydrostatic pressure from the groundwater and large swelling pressure from the bentonite buffer are applied on the container. Hence, the container must be designed to endure these large pressure loads. In this study, the array type of inner baskets and thicknesses of outer shell and lid/bottom are attempted to be determined through a linear static structural analysis.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.471-480
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• 2002

In this paper, the thermal stress analysis of spent nuclear fuel disposal canister in a deep repository at 500 m underground is carried out for the basic design of the canister. Since the nuclear fuel disposal usually emits much heat, a long term safe repository at a deep bedrock is used. Under this situation, the canister experiences the thermal load due to the heat generation of spent nuclear fuels in the basket. Hence, in this paper the thermal stress analysis is executed using the finite element method. The finite clement code Eot the analysis Is not written directly, but a commercial code, NISA, is used because of the complexity of the structure and the large number of elements required for the analysis. The analysis result shows that even though the thermal stress is added to the stress generated by the hydrostatic underground water pressure and the swelling pressure of the bentonite buffer, the total stress is still smaller than the yield stress of the cast iron. Hence, the canister is still structurally safe when the thermal loads we included in the external loads applied on the canister.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.229-238
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• 2007

In this paper, structural design requirements and safety evaluation criteria of the spent nuclear fuel disposal canister are studied for deep geological deposition. Since the spent nuclear fuel disposal canister emits high temperature heats and much radiation, its careful treatment is required. For that, a long term(usually 10,000 years) safe repository for the spent nuclear fuel disposal canister should be secured. Usually this repository is expected to locate at a depth of 500m underground. The canister which is designed for the spent nuclear fuel disposal in a deep repository in the crystalline bedrock is a solid structure with cast iron insert, corrosion resistant overpack and lid and bottom, and entails an evenly distributed load of hydrostatic pressure from underground water and high pressure from swelling of bentonite buffer. Hence, the canister must be designed to withstand these high pressure loads. If the canister is not designed for all possible external loads combinations, structural defects such as plastic deformations, cracks, and buckling etc. may occur in the canister during depositing it in the deep repository. Therefore, various structural analyses must be performed to predict these structural problems like plastic deformations, cracks, and buckling. Structural safety evaluation criteria of the canister are studied and defined for the validity of the canister design prior to the structural analysis of the canister. And structural design requirements(variables) which affect the structural safety evaluation criteria should be discussed and defined clearly. Hence this paper presents the structural design requirements(variables) and safety evaluation criteria of the spent nuclear fuel disposal canister.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2008

In deep geological disposal system, the integrity of a disposal canister having spent fuels is very important factor to assure the safety of the repository system. This disposal canister is one element of the engineered barriers to isolate and to delay the radioactivity release from human beings and the environment for a long time so that the toxicity does not affect the environment. The main requirement in designing the deep geological disposal system is to keep the buffer temperature below 100$^{\circ}C$ by the decay heat from the spent fuels in the canister in order to maintain the integrity of the buffer material. Also, the disposal canister can endure the hydraulic pressure in the depth of 500 m and the swelling pressure of the bentonite as a buffer. In this study, new concept of the disposal canister for the CANDU spent fuels which were considered to be disposed without any treatment was developed and the thermal stability and the structural integrity of the canister were analysed. The result of the thermal analysis showed that the temperature of the buffer was 88.9$^{\circ}C$ when 37 years have passed after emplacement of the canister and the spacings of the disposal tunnel and the deposition holes were 40 m and 3 m, respectively. In the case of structural analysis, the result showed that the safety factors of the normal and the extreme environment were 2.9 and 1.33, respectively. So, these results reveal that the canister meets the thermal and the structural requirements in the deep geological disposal system.