Implementation of burn-up credit approach for transport and storage cask

Abstract

TN International currently uses burn-up credit methodology for the design of casks dedicated to the transport of pressurised water reactor uranium oxide spent fuel assemblies. As long as the fuel enrichment of the pressurised water reactor fuel assemblies was sufficiently low, a burn-up credit methodology based on the sole consideration of actinides and the use of a partial burn-up was satisfactory to cover the needs without necessity to design new casks. Nevertheless, the continuous increase in the fuel enrichment during the last decade has led TN International to continue the investigations on the burn-up credit methodology to limit both the increase in the neutron poison content in the new basket designs and the burn-up constraints attached to the acceptability of the fuel assemblies for transport. The strategy of TN International was then to take benefit of the large negative reactivity reserves, which might be gained by the consideration of the fission products coming from the fuel irradiation. A big step forward has recently been reached by TN International on this field with the definition of an advanced burn-up credit methodology based on the consideration of relevant fission products recommended by OECD. In the meantime, TN International has taken the opportunity to use such burn-up credit approach in the design of the TN 24 E transport and storage cask developed for the German nuclear power plants. The relevant task has been carried out according to the German standard DIN 25712 for burn-up credit application. The present paper will describe the basic principles of the burn-up credit methodology implemented by TN International such as:

(i) the current state of the art concerning the burn-up credit application in the criticality assessment

(ii) the basic approach used for the implementation of the advanced burn-up credit methodology (bounding axial burn-up profiles, fuel irradiation parameters, fission products, etc.)

(iii) the area of validity of the TN International burn-up credit approach with fission products

(iv) example of application of the burn-up credit methodology for the design of the TN 24 E transport and storage cask under licensing in Germany

(v) the perspectives of development of the burn-up credit methodology.