The Application of Automated Fuel Rod Consolidation To Improve Storage and Transport Packaging Economics

NAC International Inc. (NAC) has worked for over 15 years on the development of costeffective and practical fuel consolidation syste~ for the disassembly and compaction of both PWR and BWR fuel assemblies. The fuel rod consolidation equipment design objective is to disassemble the non-fuel bearing components (NFBC) of the fuel assemblies; extract the individual fuel rods; place the fuel rods in a canister with a resulting compaction ratio of2 to 1; and compact and store, or dispose of, the NFBC. A number of cold (nonirradiated) and hot fuel consolidation demonstration programs have been performed over the last decade by a number of companies including NAC, Westinghouse, ABB/CE, and U.S. Tool & Die, Inc. The hot demonstrations were performed at both reactor facilities (Oconee, Maine Yankee, Milstone-2, and Prairie Island, fuel storage facilities (West Valley Demonstration Project), and at U.S. Department of Energy facilities (TAN Facilities at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory). (Bailey 1989; Fuierer 1989; Mascadini 1988; and NAC 1988.) These demonstrations have not always been fully successful and have had mixed results regarding equipment operability, compaction ratio achieved, radiation exposures to operating personnel, and fuel consolidation throughput.