Spent Fuel Transportation Package Response to the MacArthur Maze Fire Scenario

Published

October 2, 2015

Author(s)

Kevin B. McGrattan, Harold Adkins

Abstract

The NRC has established requirements that are the design bases for packaging and transportation of spent nuclear fuel assemblies under normal conditions of transport (NCT) and for hypothetical accident conditions (HAC). Real-world accidents of greater severity are possible, but are of much lower probability, and the probability of such an accident involving an SNF package is even lower. However, because of the potential consequences of such an occurrence, the NRC has undertaken the examination of specific accidents, to determine what the potential consequences might be to an SNF package. Two previous studies of transportation accidents, one resulting in a fire in a railroad tunnel (the Howard Street Tunnel fire) and one in a highway tunnel (Caldicott Tunnel Fire) were undertaken with three different SNF package designs. The MacArthur Maze accident was selected as a third study in this series of evaluations of real-world accidents because of the severity of the fire and the unusual structural consequences, in which the heat from the fire caused the overhead roadway segments to collapse onto the roadway where the fire was burning.

Citation

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NUREG/CR

Pub Type

Others

Keywords

fire modeling, thermal modeling, truck accident

Citation

McGrattan, K. and Adkins, H. (2015), Spent Fuel Transportation Package Response to the MacArthur Maze Fire Scenario, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NUREG/CR (Accessed April 24, 2024)