DEVELOPMENT OF NEW HOT CELL TRANSPORTATION AND DOCKING SYSTEM

KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has developed a new hot cell transportation and docking system that are to be utilized when the radioactive materials are transported into or out of a hot cell. The newly developed hot cell cask was designed as a multi purposed cask that can be used as three different casks by installing three different lids onto a common cask body. By the lids installed onto the cask body, they are divided into a rotating type cask, a sliding type cask, and a general type cask. The developed hot cell cask has double O-rings on the cask flange to maintain the sealing performance. It also has impact limiters installed on the top and the bottom of the cask to absorb the impact energy under the cask drop condition. The specific dimensions of the impact limiter were decided by the structural optimization technique. The new hot cell transport cask can be opened by rotating its lid by a rotational opening device after docking the cask to a rear door of hot cell. After opening the lid, an inner container can be moved toward the inside of hot cell. KAERI submitted a Safety Analysis Report (SAR) to KINS (Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety) and performed the safety evaluation tests in KAERI site. Five drop tests such as COG drop, side drop, top down drop, base down drop, and corner drop, and two puncture tests such as top down puncture and side puncture were conducted. Fire test and water immersion test were also conducted. By the safety evaluation analyses and tests, it was demonstrated that the newly developed hot cell cask maintained the safety performance under the normal operating conditions and the hypothetical accident conditions. KAERI received the license approval on the developed transportation package