ASM (Add-on Shielding Module) is an innovative solution of a hybrid steel/concrete over cask for metallic casks used for dry storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF). The design of ASM (patent application P201830711) brings together the advantages of metallic and concrete casks, improving by one magnitude order the dose reduction of metallic casks while remaining as a dual-purpose (storage and transportation) ensemble with a superior thermal and structural behaviour (against overturns, impacts or seism). The Patent Application has already received the IET(Report about State-of-the-Art) from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office which guarantees the future success in obtaining the patent.
Its characteristics enable a simplified and more economical solution to reduce the irradiation from SNF that must be stored in the existing Independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI) of the NPP, against the alternative of the construction of a building to cover the ISFSI in order to fulfil de ALARA principle and reach the required dose levels at the limits of the NPP (circa 70% CAPEX reduction).
Main objectives of the project are:
• To offer the dual purpose metallic cask manufacturers a solution for the enhancement of the radiological performance of their products.
• To offer the NPP and SNF operators a cost-competitive solution to apply the ALARA principle and reduce the radiation from the SNF.
• To make the installation process of the Add-on shielding easy-to-mount.
• To enable our customers to locate in the existing ISFSI the maximum amount of SNF.
• To provide NPP and SNF operators an important increase in the dose reduction at a reduced additional investment while keeping the fuel in dual-purpose containers.
• To avoid to our customers painful permitting and licensing processes of covered ISFSI.
• To develop and promote in the Nuclear Energy sector an enhanced alternative solution for SNF dry storage.
