Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
8782557 
Journal Article 
A High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel Transportation Concept 
Eidelpes, E; Hom, B; Hall, R; Adkins, H; Jarrell, J 
2021 
1 
Nuclear Science and Engineering
ISSN: 0029-5639 
195 
3 
279-299 
English 
WOS:000574564900001 
The uranium(235)U enrichment commonly used in fuel production for U.S. light water nuclear reactors typically does not exceed 5 wt%. In contrast, many of the currently investigated advanced reactor concepts demand fuel with higher enrichments. This includes high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), characterized by a(235)U enrichment of 5 to 20 wt%. The necessity of HALEU transportation in the fuel production cycle leads to new challenges caused by various technical and regulatory hurdles. Current U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved transportation package designs for UF(6)with enrichments above 5 wt% provide relatively small payloads [<= 116 kg (250 lb)]. Furthermore, in accordance with 10 CFR 71.55, package design activities for fissile material enriched above 5 wt% need to consider water infiltration in the containment as part of the criticality safety evaluations. This study presents a transportation package concept for HALEU advanced nuclear reactor fuel with a significantly higher payload of up to 376 kg (830 lb) of fissile material per package and up to 1881 kg (4149 lb) of HALEU per legal weight truck. The anticipated chemical form of the transported material is UO(2)downblended from available highly enriched uranium. The concept utilizes a combination of existing transportation packaging, 18 inner canisters, and a novel basket design that includes a borated aluminum flux trap. Criticality and shielding evaluations; fundamental structural, confinement, and thermal assessments; and studies on package operations are presented. The results of this study build significant confidence in the technical feasibility of a high-capacity HALEU transportation package concept while demonstrating the concept's potential to meet U.S. regulatory requirements. 
High-assay low-enriched uranium; advanced nuclear reactor fuel; HALEU transportation; fissile material package; nuclear fuel cycle 
IRIS
• Uranium Toxicological Review
     Screening
          Excluded
     Date limited literature search 2011-2021
          New to this search
          WOS