Dynamic behavior of freestanding spent fuel trays-stack without base locator during earthquake event

Abstract

Structural stability of freestanding stacks of trays containing spent fuel bundles submerged in spent fuel water pool during earthquake is of greater concern for safe storing and handling for further reprocessing of spent fuels. In the spent fuel water pool, spent fuel bundles are stacked in 25–30 trays and kept on floor without base locators or guide. Analytical procedures are not well developed to analyze the complex phenomena accounting sliding, rocking, impact of these freestanding trays-stack along with hydrodynamic effects of water mass. An experimental setup was made, and a series of shake table experiment has been performed with 25 and 30 trays-stacks submerged in spent fuel water tank. Design ground earthquake excitation of 0.1 and 0.156 g Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) has been used in the experiment. The dynamic responses of trays-stack and tank, namely displacement and acceleration of stacked trays and tank wall, at different elevation recorded in the shake table test are analyzed and compared with numerical method.