Description:
Background
Thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel around the world have been locked away in stainless-steel canisters with limited lifetimes and an imminent need of transportation or potential repackaging.
Current inspection tools are
- Invasive and costly
- Lengthy
- Unable to detect critical damage modes
Technology Description
USC researchers have built an engineered platform which safely delivers a comprehensive assessment of sealed canisters – all within a shielded concrete cask designed for real-world conditions.
Smart Integration:
- Machine learning algorithms analyze multimodal data to detect, classify, and track anomalies
- Detect internal damage, corrosion, cracking, loss of pressure, and internal gas composition
- Reduce operator risk, time, and cost
Benefits
- Inspect nuclear assets safely and intelligently with our shielded, automated platformbuilt for real-world conditions.
- Rapid and non-invasive – full inspection without opening containers within minutes
- Built-in shielding – protects people from radiation and heat
- Quick, automated monitoring – ideal for pre- and post-storage and transport, and pre-permanent disposal
- AI-enhanced accuracy – high accuracy reaching 95%, enabling predictive maintenance
- Field-deployable and scalable – adaptable across canister types and facilities, and insensitive to environmental conditions
Applications
- Canister inspection & verification
- Automated in-situ NDE on a mobile platform
- Relies on existing contractor know-how
- Lifecycle integrity management
Publications
https://doi.org/10.1177/14759217251377
https://doi.org/10.1177/14759217241294