Development of a Next Generation Canister Sipping System Available to Purchase

In order to meet the rising demand for fuel leak detection and Dry Cask Storage Services, Westinghouse Electric Company chose to re-design and market the industry-proven failed fuel detection technique of canister sipping. Based on a custom fast-plastic scintillator gamma detector, Westinghouse chose simply not to re-build its legacy system. Instead, the system was redesigned from the ground up, considering materials, limitation of overall size and weight, system control, ease of use, and decontamination. The result was a brand new design and unique improvements utilizing new, yet proven technologies. The following paper will illustrate the considerations that engineering undertook while in development of the new system. These include industry lessons learned and the fundamental improvements considered. New aspects of the design will be highlighted, including steps to be taken to improve ease of decontamination, a unique sliding lid, Nuclear Instrument Module (NIM-Bin) replacement electronics, and an up-ending system. Steps taken to decrease weight and overall footprint size will be illustrated. Lastly, improvements in control structure, and a highlight of WeSiP, Westinghouse’s new object-oriented Global Sipping Platform Software, used to log data and power the system will be examined. With these unique improvements, the new Westinghouse Canister Sipping System meets the industry’s demands for a reliable system to identify failed fuel.