Concept for hazardous material management and container closure using copper based alloys

The final phase of the nuclear fuel cycle begins with the discharge of spent fuel from the utility reactor and ends with the neutralization of the long lived fuel elements, presently envisaged as natural decay during geological disposal. The spent fuel is contained by an engineered barrier which is secured within a geological barrier. Both containment boundaries, the engineered and the geological, are selected for long term stability and statistical safety. One advantage of the following concept is that the spent fuel is secured by a high integrity engineered barrier early in the final phase of the nuclear fuel cycle. The concept takes advantage of the unique features of two copper based, precipitation hardenable alloys which have exhibited a thirty year history of successful application in high consequence designs. This copper-beryllium alloy family is well established for its corrosion resistance, fatigue integrity, fracture toughness and mechanical stability while offering a unique combination of high strength and excellent thermal conductivity