Modeling status and needs for temperature calculations within spent fuel disposal containers

The Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Waste Materials and Environment Modeling (WMEM) Program has been assigned the task of helping the DOE formulate and certify analytical tools needed to support and/or strengthen the Waste Package Licensing strategy. One objective of the WMEM program is to perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of processes related to the internal waste package environment, e.g., temperature, radiolysis effects, presence of moisture, etc. The primary objective of this report is to present the findings of a literature review of work pertinent to predicting intact waste package internal temperatures under spent fuel isolation conditions. Therefore, it is assumed that a repository scale thermal analysis has been conducted and the exterior temperature of the waste package is known. Thus, the problem reduces to one determined by the waste package and its properties. Secondary objectives of this report are to identify key parameters and methodologies for performing the thermal analysis within intact waste containers, and identify sources of uncertainty in these calculations. 37 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs