Evaluating the effectiveness of nondestructive examinations for spent fuel storage canisters

Abstract

Welded stainless steel canisters are used in dry storage systems of spent nuclear fuel from commercial power reactors in the U.S. These systems were initially licensed for 20 years and may receive license renewals for 40 more years from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The requirements for license renewal include aging management programs (AMPs) to ensure systems, structures, and components (SSCs) continue to perform their safety function. Nondestructive examination (NDE) plays an important role in AMPs that rely on inspection to detect service degradations such as chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (CISCC) of austenitic stainless steel canisters so that mitigation actions can be taken to manage the aging effects. The American Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) is currently developing a code case for the in-service inspection (ISI) of dry storage canisters. The nuclear industry is also developing inspection systems for conducting examinations of canisters. This paper is intended to...