Used Fuel Management System Architecture and Interface Analyses

Preliminary system-level analyses of the interfaces between at-reactor used fuel management, consolidated storage facilities, and disposal facilities, along with the development of supporting logistics simulation tools, have been initiated to provide the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other stakeholders with information regarding the various alternatives for managing used nuclear fuel (UNF) generated by the current fleet of light water reactors operating in the United States. An important UNF management system interface consideration is the need for ultimate disposal of UNF assemblies contained in waste packages that are sized to be compatible with different geologic media. Thermal analyses indicate that waste package sizes for the geologic media under consideration by the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign may be significantly smaller than the canisters being used for on-site dry storage by the nuclear utilities. Therefore, at some point along the UNF disposition pathway, there could be a need to repackage fuel assemblies already loaded and being loaded into the dry storage canisters currently in use. The implications of where and when the packaging or repackaging of commercial UNF will occur are key questions being addressed in this evaluation. The analysis demonstrated that thermal considerations will have a major impact on the operation of the system and that acceptance priority, rates, and facility start dates have significant system implications.