Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas, LLC

General Electric Company

Roger Evan Strine

William C Peters

David Grey Smith

Lon Paulson

Lon E Paulson

Gregory B Fornasiero

Ronald L Downing

William Carter Peters

An end support system is applied to each end of a container for shipping nuclear fuel assemblies in an inner box within the container. The end support system includes a rectilinear metal end frame, a crosspiece with a reinforcing channel along an inside surface of the crosspiece and four arms projecting in a perpendicular direction from the metal end frame for straddling the sides of the container end. By screwing the metal end support system into the wooden framing elements of the container, the integrity of the container ends is maintained during hypothetical accident conditions specified in licensing regulations.

End support system for a shipping container for nuclear fuel

The shipping container includes an outer container body, an inner containment vessel housing a pair of superposed product pails and a self-extinguishing fire-retardant foam insulation layer between the outer container and inner vessel. The inner vessel includes a gusseted upper flange and a lid bolted to the flange with a sealing gasket therebetween. Upper and lower dunnages are provided at the upper and lower ends of the outer container. The upper dunnage includes ceramic fiberboard panels and foam material straddled by steel sheets and additional ceramic fiberboard panel to separate the lid of the vessel and the top of the container. The top is secured to the outer container body by bolts passing through the top and internally into tapped bolt brackets along an interior wall of the outer container body. A retaining ring secures the arcuate overlying rolled edge of the top about the beaded rim of the outer container body. A reinforced plate covers the seam of the outer container underneath the retaining ring bolt for additional container integrity. Vent holes with plastic plugs which melt in response to a predetermined temperature vent the container body to preclude pressure buildup within the container body by expanding gases.

Shipping container for radioactive materials and methods of fabrication

The uranium oxide shipping container includes an outer container having a plurality of cavities for receiving inner containers containing uranium oxide. The cavities comprise sleeves in the outer container body for receiving the inner containers in an ordered, preferably 3.times.3 array, in the outer container. Plastic foam material of different densities is provided in interstices between the sleeves and between the sleeves and the container walls. A container cover having high density polyurethane foam along its undersurface has recesses for receiving the upper margins of inner containers. The inner containers have side walls comprised of layered stainless steel, a nuclear poison such as cadmium, a nuclear moderator such as polyethylene, optionally a ceramic material for improved fire resistance and an outer wall of stainless steel.

Uranium oxide shipping container

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Wilmington, NC, United States of America

Roger Evan Strine