Spent fuel consolidation demonstration at Battelle Columbus

The US Tool and Die consolidation system is now a completely closed system capable of consolidating fuel at rates of two to six assemblies per shift in the spent fuel pool. The heart of the system is the funnel that guides each rod through a closed path free of impact loads and transforms the open, square array of fuel rods into a tight triangular pack. The latest development tested at the pool in live spent fuel was the automatic feeder system that draws rods from the fuel assembly and feeds them into the canister