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Changes in spent nuclear fuel due to dry interim storage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2012

L. Duro ,
O. Riba ,
A. Martínez-Esparza  and
J. Bruno
L. Duro
Affiliation:
Amphos 21 Consulting, S.L., P. Garcia Faria 49-51, 1-1, Barcelona, E-08019, Spain
O. Riba
Affiliation:
Amphos 21 Consulting, S.L., P. Garcia Faria 49-51, 1-1, Barcelona, E-08019, Spain
A. Martínez-Esparza
Affiliation:
EMPRESA NACIONAL DE RESIDUOS RADIACTIVOS S.A C/ Emilio Vargas, 7 Madrid, E-28043 Spain.
J. Bruno
Affiliation:
Amphos 21 Consulting, S.L., P. Garcia Faria 49-51, 1-1, Barcelona, E-08019, Spain
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Abstract

The assessment of the main changes expected for spent nuclear fuel from its discharge to its deposition in a deep geological repository is of the outmost relevance to establish the initial conditions of the disposal. In this work, a literature review and a critical discussion of the main processes that will affect the structure and the inventory of the spent nuclear fuel during its interim dry storage is presented. Once the irradiation period is finished, the following changes are observed: i) the fuel pellet is fragmented due to the temperature gradient established during the irradiation stage. On average between 10-15 fragments are observed per pellet. ii) the initial gap existing between the pellet and the cladding decreases or disappears depending on the burnup. iii) a radial zonation is observed in the microstructure of the pellet. For burnup over 40MWd/KgU, the rim develops a porosity increase due to the high local burnup and the low temperature in the periphery. The rim also presents small bubbles of fission gases. This high burnup structure implies a degradation of the thermic conductivity in the pellet, that leads to a temperature increase in the center of the pellet with a subsequent migration of the fission gases and other impurities to the grain boundaries. The implications that all these changes may have on the spent fuel behaviour is presented and discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1475: Symposium NW – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXXV , 2012 , imrc11-1475-nw35-o51
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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