Thermal stress analysis of thermally sprayed coatings on a spent nuclear fuel waste package

The purpose of applying a thermal sprayed coating on a spent nuclear fuel waste package is to prevent moisture contacting the spent nuclear fuel for tens of thousands of years. This thesis studies some of the thermal effects that a coated waste package may experience. Residual stress from the thermal spray process is one of these effects and in this study two modeling methods are compared. Finally, a finite element analysis of the initial emplacement of the spent nuclear fuel in the waste package is used to determine if any spalling of the coating from the waste package will occur; The results of the residual stress study and the thermal stress study indicate that all of the coatings will not spall off from the waste package. The ceramic coatings have the lowest stress values out of the three material cases. Therefore, future studies are needed to develop this design option for the waste package development