HI-TRAC

(USNRC Certificate of Compliance No. 1014 for Storage)

The HI-STORM 100 System utilizes the HI-TRAC Transfer Cask for transporting the MPC from the spent fuel pool and for inter-cask MPC transfer required for on-site storage and off-site transport. A transfer cask is indispensable for implementing an ISFSI MPC loading in a HI-STORM 100 System and for future off-site shipment.

The HI-TRAC System, engineered to be fully compatible with the HI-STORM 100 and HI-STAR 100 overpacks, fulfills several key operational needs, including:

  • Smallest possible cross-sectional area to permit placement in tight-cask spaces in many pools.
  • Flexibility in the design, such that sites which do not have more than 100-ton lifting capacity can be defueled using HI-TRAC.
  • Maximum protection against contamination of the MPC’s external surface.

To deal with crane lifting capacity limitations, which exist at numerous plants, HI-TRAC has been licensed in two anatomically similar designs, which we refer to as HI-TRAC 100 and HI-TRAC 125, respectively. The annexes 100 and 125 imply the maximum weight of the loaded HI-TRAC in tons during its lifting and handling operations.

HI-TRAC 100 and HI-TRAC 125 are physically identical except that the latter, due to its greater mass, provides more shielding. HI-TRAC 100 and HI-TRAC 125 both accommodate the standard MPC (containing up to 24 PWR or up to 68 BWR spent fuel assemblies). The HI-TRAC transfer cask provides optimal shielding of the fuel housed in the MPC to minimize personnel exposure during handling and MPC closure operations.

The HI-TRAC transfer cask is designed and fabricated to allow vertical handling of the loaded HI-TRAC while meeting the heavy-lifting requirements of NUREG-0612 and ANSI N14.6. The HI-TRAC is designed to interface with either the HI-STORM storage module or with the HI-STAR dual purpose overpack. The HI-TRAC system is designed to transfer the loaded MPC within the fuel storage building or at the storage pad. This assures that canister transfers for off-site transport can be completed without requiring reactor handling facilities (therefore, returning to the reactor building is not required).

Patents

TitleYearPatent No.Status
Apparatus, System, and Methods for Handing Spent Nuclear Fuel202519/098,936Pending
Ventilated Transfer Cask with a High Integrity Lifting Feature and an Integral Impact Limiter2016US 9,466,400 B2Granted
Method of Removing Radioactive Materials from Submerged State and/or Preparing Spent Nuclear Fuel for Dry Storage2011US 8,067,659 B2Granted
Method and Apparatus for Transporting and/or Storing Radioactive Materials having a Jacket Adapted to Facilitate Thermosiphon Fluid Flow2011US 7,994,380 B2Granted
Method and Apparatus for Maximizing Radiation Shielding During Cask Transfer Procedures2008US 7,330,525 B2, US 6,587,536 B1Granted