Described herein, are methods for providing a protective coating to a storage container for storing nuclear material, the method comprising depositing nickel particles on at least one surface of the substrate to produce the protective coating, wherein the nickel particles are deposited by cold spraying a composition comprising nickel particles and a carrier gas comprising nitrogen. In one aspect, the carrier gas consists essentially or consists only of nitrogen. The methods do not require pretreatment or modification of the nickel particles prior to cold spraying, which makes the methods described herein economically practical. The coatings produced by the methods described herein possess several advantageous properties including, but not limited to, high adhesion strength to the storage system and low porosity. The coatings produced by the methods described herein are effective against chemical attack such as, for example, CISCC.

A modular dry spent fuel canister system in which several different types of inner spent nuclear fuel canisters can be loaded into the same outer cask family. This family typically includes a storage overpack, a transfer cask, a transportation cask and support or auxiliary hardware. The various canisters can be loaded interchangeably into the different types of outer casks. The inner canisters are differentiated not by physical fuel type or dimension, but by the engineering objective or criterion that applies to the spent fuel being stored. One such objective may be for a single canister to store a large number of assemblies economically and safely. A second is a canister designed to greatly reduce the cooling time (or radioactive decay time) that must pass in order to load spent nuclear fuel for off-site storage, so as to meet the decay heat requirements and capabilities of the off-site storage system.

A modular dry spent fuel canister system in which several different types of inner spent nuclear fuel canisters can be loaded into the same outer cask family. This family typically includes a storage overpack, a transfer cask, a transportation cask and support or auxiliary hardware. The various canisters can be loaded interchangeably into the different types of outer casks. The inner canisters are differentiated not by physical fuel type or dimension, but by the engineering objective or criterion that applies to the spent fuel being stored. One such objective may be for a single canister to store a large number of assemblies economically and safely. A second is a canister designed to greatly reduce the cooling time (or radioactive decay time) that must pass in order to load spent nuclear fuel for off-site storage, so as to meet the decay heat requirements and capabilities of the off-site storage system.

A neutron absorber member is configured to be inserted into a control rod guide tube of a spent fuel assembly. The neutron absorber member includes a first plate and a second plate. The first plate extends along a longitudinal axis between a first end and a second end. The first plate has a slot formed therethrough at the first end. The slot extends from the first end towards the second end. The second plate is disposed within the slot of the first plate. The first plate and the second plate are arranged to have a cross-sectional shape of a cruciform.

A container is designed to safely store radioactive debris. The container has an overpack having an elongated body extending between a top end and a bottom end. A basket is situated inside of the overpack. The basket has elongated canisters. Each of the canisters has an elongated body extending between a top end and a bottom end. At least one of the canisters has an insert with a plurality of elongated perforated tubes that contain radioactive debris. The perforations enable gas flow, primarily air, through the side wall to enable evaporation of liquid, primarily water, from the radioactive debris, by increasing the exposed surface area of the debris.

A module for storing high level radioactive waste includes an outer shell, having a hermetically closed bottom end, and an inner shell forming a cavity and being positioned inside the outer shell to form a space therebetween. At least one divider extends from the top to the bottom of the inner shell to create a plurality of inlet passageways through the space, each inlet passageway connecting to a bottom portion of the cavity. A plurality of inlet ducts each connect at least one of the inlet passageways and ambient atmosphere, and each includes an inlet duct cover affixed atop a surrounding inlet wall, the inlet wall being peripherally perforated. A removable lid is positioned atop the inner shell and has at least one outlet passageway connecting the cavity and the ambient atmosphere, the lid and the top of the inner shell being configured to form a hermetic seal therebetween.

A module for storing high level radioactive waste includes an outer shell, having a hermetically closed bottom end, and an inner shell forming a cavity and being positioned inside the outer shell to form a space therebetween. At least one divider extends from the top to the bottom of the inner shell to create a plurality of inlet passageways through the space, each inlet passageway connecting to a bottom portion of the cavity. A plurality of inlet ducts each connect at least one of the inlet passageways and ambient atmosphere, and each includes an inlet duct cover affixed atop a surrounding inlet wall, the inlet wall being peripherally perforated. A removable lid is positioned atop the inner shell and has at least one outlet passageway connecting the cavity and the ambient atmosphere, the lid and the top of the inner shell being configured to form a hermetic seal therebetween.

A neutron absorbing insert for use in a fuel rack. In one aspect, the insert includes: a plate structure having a first wall and a second wall that is non-coplanar to the first wall; the first and second walls being formed by a single panel of a metal matrix composite having neutron absorbing particulate reinforcement that is bent into the non-coplanar arrangement along a crease; and a plurality of spaced-apart holes formed into the single panel along the crease prior to bending.

A system for externally cooling a cask containing heat-emitting spent nuclear fuel includes the cask comprising a radiation shielding body defining an internal cavity configured to hold a canister containing the spent nuclear fuel. A continuously annular cooling jacket extends circumferentially around an external surface of the cask body. The cooling jacket may have a double shell construction including an internal cavity for a cooling medium which provides an external heat sink for absorbing heat radiated from the external wall surface of the cask generated by the spent nuclear fuel. The heat emitted by the spent nuclear fuel is absorbed by the cooling medium in the cooling jacket, thereby in turn cooling the cask. In one embodiment, the cooling medium may be dry ice which undergoes sublimation by absorbing the heat to change from solid to gaseous phase directly. The jacket may be formed of multiple segments.

A system for storing nuclear fuel, the system including a storage rack and a bearing pad. The storage rack includes an array of cells, each cell configured to receive and store nuclear fuel rods, a base plate configured to support the array of cells, and a support structure configured to support the base plate and to allow cooling fluid to circulate under and up through apertures in the base plate. The bearing pad is coupled to the support structure and is configured to limit lateral movement of the storage rack independent from lateral movement of the bearing pad. The base plate defines a base plate profile in a horizontal plane of the base plate, and the bearing pad defines a bearing pad profile in the horizontal plane of the base plate, wherein the bearing pad profile extends outside of the base plate profile.