TN NOVATM Storage Licensing and Airplane crash test

The likelihood that an aircraft will crash on a storage cask containing used nuclear fuel is extremely small. However, some Regulators require that this potential accident is considered as a design assumption for storage. In accordance with the requirements of the ENSI, the Swiss Competent Authority, it is necessary to demonstrate that any used nuclear fuel interim dry-storage cask to be stored in Switzerland, in this case the TN NOVATM storage system, is able to resist a simulated airplane crash test. The TN NOVATM system is one of the latest developments of TN International (TNI), an AREVA subsidiary, for AXPO Power AG, the largest Swiss Nuclear Utility. This system is expected to meet the used fuel assembly interim storage needs of the Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant for its entire lifetime. The system meets the two necessary functions of transport and storage by means of three different components supported by two licenses: - A sealed NUHOMS® -69BTH Dry Shielded Canister: This contains the used fuel assemblies and is loaded and sealed at the Nuclear Power Plant. - A TN NOVATM Overpack: The sealed Canister is loaded into this Overpack, which is used as a protective shell during storage. Together they comply with the Storage license which is reviewed and granted by the ENSI. - A NUHOMS® -MP197HB Transport Cask: For transport, the sealed Canister is transferred from the Overpack into this Transport Cask. Canister and Transport Cask comply together with the Transport license which is reviewed and granted by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is validated by the ENSI. There is only one Transport Cask for multiple Storage Canisters and Overpacks. This paper describes the main requirements for a Storage license in Switzerland and the aircraft crash test that was performed in 2010 in order to demonstrate the ability of the TN NOVATM to withstand the impact of an airplane crashing into the cask at a speed of more than 800 km/h. The TN NOVATM system successfully withstood this crash test, fully maintaining its leak tightness. The TN NOVATM product development has required specific design and numerical modeling resources from both US and French teams resulting in an excellent correlation between design calculations and test results. The test was performed less than two years after the initial order was placed by AXPO Power AG.