• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.690-695
• /
• 2023

Recommendations are given to improve the efficiency of radiation protection of transport casks for SNF transportation. The attenuation of ${\gamma}$-quanta of long-lived isotopes ¹³⁴Cs, ^137mBa(¹³⁷Cs), ¹⁵⁴Eu and ⁶⁰Co by optimizing the thicknesses and arrangement of layers of Fe and Pb radiation shields of transport casks is studied. The fixed radiation shielding mass (fixed mass thickness) is chosen as the main optimization criterion. The effect of the placement order of Fe and Pb layers in a combined two-layer radiation shield with an equivalent thickness of 30 cm is studied in detail. It is shown that with the same mass thicknesses of the Fe and Pb layers, the placement of Fe in the first layer, and Pb - in the second one provides more than twofold attenuation of ${\gamma}$-quanta compared to the reverse placement: Pb - in the first layer, Fe - in the second. The increase in the efficiency of attenuation of ${\gamma}$-quanta for TC with combined shielding of Fe and Pb is shown to be achieved by designing the first layer of radiation shielding around the canister with SNF from Fe of the maximum possible thickness.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.102-108
• /
• 2023

A Chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (CISCC) of austenite stainless steel in dry cask storage system (DCSS) can occur with extending service time than originally designed. Cold spray coating (CSC) not only form a very dense microstructure that can protect from corrosive environments, but also can generate compressive stress on the surface. This characteristic of CSC process is very helpful to increase the resistance for CISCC. CSC with several powders, such as 304L, 316L and Ni can be optimized to form very dense coating layer. In addition, the impact energy generated as the CSC powder collides with the surface of base metal at a speed of Mach 2 or more can remove the residual tensile stress of welding area and serve the compress stress. CSC layers include no oxidation and no contamination with under 0.2% porosity, which is enough to protect from the penetration of corrosive chloride. Therefore, the CSC coating layer can be accompanied by a function that can be disconnected from the corrosive environment and an effect of improving the residual stress that causes CISCC, so the canister's CISCC resistance can be increased.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.343-356
• /
• 2016

The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) has developed a dual-purpose metal cask for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel that has been generated by domestic light-water reactors. The metal cask was designed in compliance with international and domestic technology standards, and safety was the most important consideration in developing the design. It was designed to maintain its integrity for 50 years in terms of major safety factors. The metal cask ensures the minimization of waste generated by maintenance activities during the storage period as well as the safe management of the waste. An activation evaluation of the main body, which includes internal and external components of metal casks whose design lifetime has expired, provides quantitative data on their radioactive inventory. The radioactive inventory of the main body and the components of the metal cask were calculated by applying the MCNP5 ORIGEN-2 evaluation system and by considering each component's chemical composition, neutron flux distribution, and reaction rate, as well as the duration of neutron irradiation during the storage period. The evaluation results revealed that 10 years after the end of the cask's design life, $^{60}Co$ had greater radioactivity than other nuclides among the metal materials. In the case of the neutron shield, nuclides that emit high-energy gamma rays such as $^{28}Al$ and $^{24}Na$ had greater radioactivity immediately after the design lifetime. However, their radioactivity level became negligible after six months due to their short half-life. The surface exposure dose rates of the canister and the main body of the metal cask from which the spent nuclear fuel had been removed with expiration of the design lifetime were determined to be at very low levels, and the radiation exposure doses to which radiation workers were subjected during the decommissioning process appeared to be at insignificant levels. The evaluations of this study strongly suggest that the nuclide inventory of a spent nuclear fuel metal cask can be utilized as basic data when decommissioning of a metal cask is planned, for example, for the development of a decommissioning plan, the determination of a decommissioning method, the estimation of radiation exposure to workers engaged in decommissioning operations, the management/reuse of radioactive wastes, etc.