The safety of a KTC-360 transport cask, a large-capacity pressurized heavy-water reactor transport cask that transports CANDU spent nuclear fuel discharged from the reactor after burning in a pressurized heavy-water reactor, must be demonstrated under the normal transport and accident conditions specified under transport cask regulations. To confirm the thermal integrity of this cask under normal transport and accident conditions, high-temperature and fire tests were performed using a one-third slice model of an actual KTC-360 cask. The results revealed that the surface temperature of the cask was 62°C, indicating that such casks must be transported separately. The highest temperature of the CANDU spent nuclear fuel was predicted to be lower than the melting temperature of Zircaloy-4, which was the sheath material used. Therefore, if normal operating conditions are applied, the thermal integrity of a KTC-360 cask can be maintained under normal transport conditions. The fire test revealed that the maximum temperatures of the structural materials, stainless steel, and carbon steel were 446°C lower than the permitted maximum temperatures, proving the thermal integrity of the cask under fire accident conditions.

With respect to spent nuclear fuels, disposal containers and bentonite buffer blocks in deep geological disposal systems are the primary engineered barrier elements that are required to isolate radioactive toxicity for a long period of time and delay the leakage of radio nuclides such that they do not affect human and natural environments. Therefore, the thermal stability of the bentonite buffer and structural integrity of the disposal container are essential factors for maintaining the safety of a deep geological disposal system. The most important requirement in the design of such a system involves ensuring that the temperature of the buffer does not exceed 100℃ because of the decay heat emitted from high-level wastes loaded in the disposal container. In addition, the disposal containers should maintain structural integrity under loads, such as hydraulic pressure, at an underground depth of 500 m and swelling pressure of the bentonite buffer. In this study, we analyzed the thermal stability and structural integrity in a deep geological disposal environment of the improved deep geological disposal systems for domestic light-water and heavy-water reactor types of spent nuclear fuels, which were considered to be subject to direct disposal. The results of the thermal stability and structural integrity assessments indicated that the improved disposal systems for each type of spent nuclear fuel satisfied the temperature limit requirement (< 100℃) of the disposal system, and the disposal containers were observed to maintain their integrity with a safety ratio of 2.0 or higher in the environment of deep disposal.

본 논문에서는 가압열충격의 파괴역학적 해석에 필요한 이론을 조사하였고 원자로용기의 구조건전성을 평가하기 위하여 해석과정을 전산화하였다. 우선 사고 transient에 대하여 원자로용기내의 압력과 주입되는 냉각재의 온도변화가 주어지면 이들로 부터 시간에 따른 용기에서의 온도와 응력분포를 구하고, 중성자 조사량과 용기 재질의 화학성분으로 부터 기준무연성천이온도의 분포가 구해지며 이로부터 파괴인성치 KIA와 KIC의 분포가 얻어진다. 또한 응력분포로 부터 균열의 크기 및 형상에 따라 응력확대계수 KI이 구해지므로 이를 KIA및 KIC와 비교함으로써 균열의 성장거동을 예측할 수 있다. 지금까지 보고된 가압열충격을 유발할 수 있는 대표적인 사고 transient가 국내 발전소에 발생할 경우를 가정하여 해석을 수행하였고 그 결과에 대하여 검토하였다.