Parametric effects of ambient conditions on thermal safety of Wolsong (CANDU) unit 1 spent fuel dry storage canister

A simplified thermal analysis method to evaluate the maximum temperature of the CANDU 37-element fuel bundle within a fuel basket in a given spent fuel dry storage canister has been presented along with the results of sample analyses performed to examine the parametric effects of the ambient conditions on the maximum fuel temperature within a canister. To solve the multi-dimensional heat transfer problem of the complex geometry of rod bundles within a canister where three modes of heat transfer are superimposed, the CANDU spent fuel bundles stored in the dry storage canister are first replaced by equivalent concentric fuel cylinders. The simplified axi-symmetric two-dimensional multi-mode heat transfer problem of the equivalent fuel cylinders is then analyzed with an existing computer code, HEATING5, using additional input data and heat transfer correlations. A comparison between the predicted temperature profile and the mock-up test results shows that the agreement is quite satisfactory. (Author)