Natural Convection Studies in Nuclear Spent-Fuel Shipping Casks: Computation and Experiment

In an effort to maximize the passive heat rejection capability of nuclear spent-fuel shipping casks, a study is made of enclosed natural convection. Two computational methods and one optical experimental method are described. The finite-difference and finite-element numerical methods are developed, and two geometries representative of possible fuel cask configurations are investigated. A temperature visualization scheme using laser holographic interferometry is used to make measurements. The numerically predicted and experimentally measured temperature fields are compared.

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