CANISTER APPARATUS AND BASKET FOR TRANSPORTING, STORING AND/OR SUPPORTING SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL

摘要

A canister apparatus, basket apparatus and combinations thereof for transporting and/or storing high level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel. The canister apparatus comprises a cavity for receiving the spent nuclear fuel that is surrounded by two independent gas-tight containment boundaries. The structures that form the two independent gas-tight containment boundaries are in substantially continuous surface contact with one another, thereby facilitating sufficient heat removal from the cavity. In another aspect, the invention is a basket apparatus having a plurality of disk-like grates arranged in a stacked and spaced arrangement so that the cells of the disk-like grates are aligned. In still another aspect, the invention can be a basket apparatus having a disk-like grate having a ring-like structure encompassing a gridwork of beams specially arranged to achieve a unique cell configuration.