Full-Scale Prototyping of the Hitachi Dual-Purpose Metal Cask and Verification of Its Heat Transfer Characteristics

Hitachi has been developing dual-purpose metal casks for transport and storage of spent nuclear fuels. The Hitachi cask, HDP69B can store 69 BWR fuel assemblies. The cask features are as follows. 1) The fuel basket is assembled mainly with plates of borated stainless steel. The plates are not welded, but cross-inserted into each other like the dividers in an egg carton. Since the borated stainless steel has relatively low heat conductivity, aluminum alloy plates are inserted along with some stainless steel plates to enhance heat removal ability. 2) Cured resin blocks are fitted into the inner shell of the cask for neutron shielding of the cask body. The resin blocks are surrounded by an aluminum casing which transfers heat of stored fuel from the inner shell to the outer shell of the cask. The block type shield structure eliminates the need for welding the heat transfer fins to the inner and outer shells. The weldless structures of the HDP69B lead to its enhanced manufacturability, but they complicate the heat transfer characteristics because there are gaps between such components as the aluminum casing and inner/outer shells. We carried out full-scale prototyping of the HDP69B and ran a heat transfer test using the prototype. The purposes of the heat transfer test were to check the heat removal ability of the HDP69B and to verify the safety analysis model for heat removal. Results of the heat transfer test and optimized analysis model for heat transfer characteristics of the HDP69B are the focus of this paper. The heat transfer test is summarized as follows. Sixty nine heaters simulating the shape and heat power of spent fuel assemblies were inserted into the fuel basket. After replacing the inner atmosphere with 0.1 MPa of helium, the heat transfer test was started. About 7 days were required to equilibrate the temperature distribution. The temperature at the center of the basket was 194 °C. The results confirmed the HDP69B had sufficient heat removal ability. The three-dimensional calculation model for the heat transfer characteristics of the prototype HDP69B was also established.