2D Thermal Analysis of a Cask using an Advanced Neutron Absorbing Material under Normal Condition

Development of materials which can be applied for the storage and transportation cask and of manufacturing techniques thereof is demanded. The objectives of thermal analysis includes confirmation that the temperatures of the fuel cladding will be maintained below the specified temperature that could lead to gross rupture of the cladding throughout the whole storage period in order to protect the fuel against degradation. In this paper, when the cask uses an advanced neutron absorbing material, this study aims to confirm that the fuel temperature will remain within the allowable values. The advanced neutron absorbing material was developed through the criticality analysis. The thermal analysis of the cask has been performed for the case for hot and cold conditions by the CFD simulation using ANSYS FLUENT code. CFD simulation on the 2D cask model is conducted using ANSYS FLUENT code under normal condition. For fuel region, the maximum rod surface temperature is 152 .deg. C and it does not exceed the allowable temperature limit of 400 .deg. C. Also other components of cask, such as the lead shield and the neutron shield, etc., satisfy the allowable temperature limits. In cold condition, the calculated temperature results do not violate the allowable temperature limits. Therefore, the thermal integrity of the KSC-1 type cask which adopts advanced neutron absorbing material is shown to be maintained under normal operation