WE Colloquium: Gary Cannell, Closure Welding Radioactive Materials Containers

Fluor Government Group | Welding and Materials Engineering

All dates for this event occur in the past.

111 EJTC
1248 Arthur Adams Dr
Columbus, OH 43221
United States

Abstract

The Department of Energy, Hanford Site is preparing for the transfer of radioactive cesium and strontium filled capsules from wet pool to dry storage. The capsules will be loaded into a dry cask storage system (DCSS) that has been adapted from a commercially available, NRC – licensed system for Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF). Closure welding of the loaded canister (credited as the primary containment) will be performed under fully remote operations – no physical (personnel) access to the weld, before, during or after welding will be permitted.

Welding will be performed using the Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process with a machine welding technique. GTAW can produce high-quality welds that meet requirements for “nuclear” welding applications. The process is not however, immune to upset; either process or equipment, and executing weld repair under fully remote operations can be a challenge and result in significant impact to project cost and schedule.

The presentation will provide a general review of the project and detail specific welding development activities to ensure the process and equipment can perform reliably and without upset. Activities will include multi-factor, full-factorial experimental testing and integration of adaptive welding technology.