Engineering product storage under the advanced fuel cycle initiative. Part I: An iterative thermal transport modeling scheme for high-heat-generating radioactive storage forms

Abstract

The US Department of Energy is developing an integrated nuclear fuel cycle technology under its Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI). Under the AFCI, waste minimization is stressed. Engineered product storage materials will be required to store concentrated radioactive cesium, strontium, americium, and curium for periods of tens to hundreds of years. The fabrication of such engineered products has some precedence but the concept is largely novel. We thus present a theoretical model used to calculate the maximum radial dimensions of right cylinder storage forms under several scenarios. Maximum dimensions are small, comparable to nuclear fuel pins in some cases, to avoid centerline melting temperatures; this highlights the need for a careful strategy for engineered product storage fabrication and storage.