SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE

Spent nuclear fuels are received from reactor sites around the world and are being stored in the L-Basin at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina. The predominant fuel types are research reactor fuel with aluminum-alloy cladding and aluminum-based fuel. Other fuel materials include stainless steel and Zircaloy cladding with uranium oxide fuel. Chemistry control and corrosion surveillance programs have been established and upgraded since the early 1990's to minimize corrosion degradation of the aluminum cladding materials, so as to maintain fuel integrity and minimize personnel exposure from radioactivity in the basin water. Recent activities have been initiated to support additional decades of wet storage which include fuel inspection and corrosion testing to evaluate the effects of specific water impurity species on corrosion attack

Inspection of storage tanks at the Savannah River Site

Inspections have been performed on over 200 storage tanks since the startup of the Savannah River Site in 1955. The tanks contain a variety of fluids, including alum, fuel, oil, waste oil, sodium hydroxide, chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, and sulfuric acid. Many inspection methods have been developed over the years, starting with visual and progressing to manual, straight-beam ultrasonic thicknesses at specific tank locations and then to automated ultrasonic thickness mapping. This paper will review the current inspection methods and the uses of new inspection technology at the Savannah River Site, show where inspections can be used to find potential problems before they occur and show what problems may occur when inadequate attention is given to inspections or inspection results

The multi-axial deformation behavior of bulk metallic glasses at high homologous temperatures

10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2009.11.008International Journal of Solids and Structures475678-69