Determination of BWR Spent Nuclear Fuel Assembly Effective Thermal Conductivity

The purpose of this calculation is to provide an effective thermal conductivity for use in predicting peak cladding temperatures in boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies with 7x7,8x8, and 9x9 rod arrays. The first objective of this calculation is to describe the development and application of a finite element representation that predicts peak spent nuclear fuel temperatures for BWR assemblies. The second objective is to use the discrete representation to develop a basis for determining an effective thermal conductivity (described later) for a BWR assembly with srneared/homogeneous properties and to investigate the thermal behavior of a spent fuel assembly. The scope of this calculation is limited to a steady-state two-dimensional representation of the waste package interior region. This calculation is subject to procedure AP-3.124, Calculations (Ref. 27) and guided by the applicable technical work plan (Ref. 14). While these evaluations were originally developed for the thermal analysis of conceptual waste package designs emplaced in the potential repository at Yucca Mountain, the methodology applies to storage and transportation thermal analyses as well. Note that the waste package sketch in Attachment V depicts a preliminary design, and should not be interpreted otherwise