Study on heat removal capability concrete cask system with horizontal orientation

In Japan, nuclear fuel cycle, has been promoted, so the recycle fuels formed at nuclear power stations are planned to be processed at reprocessing facilities in future. However, as forming quantities of the recycle fuels are more than reprocessing quantities of the facilities, it is needed to practice a facility (interim storage facility (ISF)) to temporarily store them among the recycle fuels will be reprocessed. The Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, Co., Ltd. has investigated on vault system and concrete cask system for dry storage system with excellent economical efficiency among various systems on ISFs. As the latter method has a number of actual results in U.S.A., its practice is progressed after some improvements suitable for Japan. When progressing this practice on the latter method on fiscal year 1999, at first, a concrete cask with actual size was experimentally produced, to confirm its productivity. On fiscal year 2000, aiming to establish heat removal evaluation at storage, a thermal load test simulated at the storage was carried out by using this trial product. Here was reported results obtained at a test simulated at repacking carried out on fiscal year 2001. (G.K.)