EQ6 Calculation for Chemical Degradation of Shippingport LWBR (Th/U Oxide) Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Packages
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| CAL-EDC-MD-000008_MOL.20000926.0295.pdf (3.33 MB) | 3.33 MB |
The Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) Waste Package Department of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management & Operating contractor (CRWMS M&O) performed calculations to provide input for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) (Ref. 1). The Shippingport LWBR SNF has been considered for disposal at the potential Yucca Mountain site. Because of the high content of fissile material in the SNF, the waste package (WP) design requires special consideration of the amount and placement of neutron absorbers and the possible loss of absorbers and SNF materials over geologic time. For some WPs, the outer shell corrosion-resistant material (CRM) and the corrosion-allowance inner shell may breach (Refs. 2 and 3), allowing the influx of water. Water in the WP will moderate neutrons, increasing the likelihood of a criticality event within the WP; and the water may, in time, gradually leach the fissile components and neutron absorbers from the WP, further affecting the neutronics of the system.
This study presents calculations of the long-term geochemical behavior of WPs containing a Shippingport LWBR SNF seed assembly, and high-level waste (HLW) glass canisters arranged according to the codisposal concept (Ref. 4). The specific study objectives were to determine:
1. The extent to which criticality control material, suggested for this WP design, will remain in the WP after corrosion/dissolution of the initial WP configuration (such that it can be effective in preventing criticality)
2. The extent to which fissile uranium and fertile thorium will be carried out of the degraded WP by infiltrating water (such that internal criticality is no longer possible, but the possibility of external criticality may be enhanced)
3. The nominal chemical composition for the criticality evaluations of the WP design, and to suggest the range of parametric variations for additional evaluations.
