Overview of Current Practice for Analysis and Design of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Pads

Nuclear power plant spent fuels are initially stored in the spent fuel pool. Then, the water cooled fuels are transferred in a concrete or steel cask and transported outside of the Fuel Handling Building (FHB) or the Reactor Building (RB) for long term on site storage. The spent fuel casks are typically stored on a slab-on-grade pad. The slab-on-grade pad is designed according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NUREG-1536 and NUREG-1567. The two Standard Review Plans provide guidance to the regulators for the review of cask storage system license application. The ISFSI pad analysis and design have to consider various loading conditions, such as earthquake and tornado loadings as well as normal operating loading conditions. Seismic analysis of the ISFSI pad requires considering interaction between the pad and the supporting soil. Various cask loading configurations on the pad also have to be considered. Due to the lack of specific guidelines, many ISFSI pad designs show overly conservative reinforcement. This study provides guidelines and procedure for the design of the ISFSI pad that are typically used in the nuclear industry. It is considered that the guidelines and practices described in this study help design engineers understand general guidance provided in the NRC Standard Review Plans.