Corrosion Susceptibility Prediction and Lifetime Extension of Nuclear Dry Storage Canister using Weather Data

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With growing concern for global warming resulting from fossil fuel usage, the use of nuclear energy has provided a cleaner alternative to power generation. Radioactive fuel such as Uranium Oxide has gained significant usage today. Almost 20% of the electricity generated in the US comes from nuclear energy.

Product Number: 51323-19441-SG

Author: Vinod Upadhyay, Julio Mendez, Siva Palani, Alan Rose, Keith Legg

Publication Date: 2023

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the annual use of nuclear energy for electricity generation in the US is almost 20 % as of 2021. However, the used nuclear fuel rods require a safe storage strategy because they are still radioactive. For the first few years they are stored underwater and then transferred to interim dry cask storage systems (DCSS), consisting of welded stainless-steel cylinders designed to safely store the fuel for a few decades. In the absence of any permanent safe storage strategy these DCSS are expected to be used much longer. With time the fuel rods within the Dry Storage Canister (DSC) of a DCSS system cool and allow condensation. The atmosphere around the DSC becomes favorable for corrosion such as galvanic, pitting, and stress corrosion cracking especially for DSCs in coastal locations. The challenge is therefore to protect DSC welds from corrosion and enhance its lifetime. To this effort we have built a computational model using weather data to predict corrosion in the DSC. We have then investigated electrochemically and computationally the likelihood of corrosion, have evaluated a technology, and coating systems that can be used to extend protection of the DSC, and discussed the findings.