{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/54856"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/54856","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Allocation of spent nuclear fuel transport casks","abstract":"The selection of the form of spent nuclear fuel disposition, currently under debate, will precipitate an immediate requirement for spent-fuel transport regardless of the disposition alternative chosen. In this study, a constrained transportation model of the spent fuel cask scheduling problem is formulated with the objective of determining the minimum number of casks required to meet a fixed transport schedule. An iterative search procedure is employed to determine schedules which minimize cask idle time for each required spent fuel cask. The formulated model and the iterative search procedure are applied to a reference case to demonstrate their utility. An economic analysis of the results was performed to compare the truck and rail transport modes. Results indicate a substantial savings when rail transport is employed. An economic comparison of the cask lease and cask purchase options indicates that cask purchase is preferable for the 23-year planning horizon.","abstract_html":"The selection of the form of spent nuclear fuel disposition, currently under debate, will precipitate an immediate requirement for spent-fuel transport regardless of the disposition alternative chosen. In this study, a constrained transportation model of the spent fuel cask scheduling problem is formulated with the objective of determining the minimum number of casks required to meet a fixed transport schedule. An iterative search procedure is employed to determine schedules which minimize cask idle time for each required spent fuel cask. The formulated model and the iterative search procedure are applied to a reference case to demonstrate their utility. An economic analysis of the results was performed to compare the truck and rail transport modes. Results indicate a substantial savings when rail transport is employed. An economic comparison of the cask lease and cask purchase options indicates that cask purchase is preferable for the 23-year planning horizon.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bethel, Nancy Haynes"],"institution":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Industrial Engineering and Operations Research","degree_department":"Industrial Engineering and Operations Research","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1977,"date_issued":"1977","date_published":"1977","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:11Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/54856","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Industrial Engineering and Operations Research"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bethel, Nancy Haynes"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2015-07-28T20:42:16Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-07-28T20:42:16Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1977"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Industrial Engineering and Operations Research"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/54856"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The selection of the form of spent nuclear fuel disposition, currently under debate, will precipitate an immediate requirement for spent-fuel transport regardless of the disposition alternative chosen. In this study, a constrained transportation model of the spent fuel cask scheduling problem is formulated with the objective of determining the minimum number of casks required to meet a fixed transport schedule. An iterative search procedure is employed to determine schedules which minimize cask idle time for each required spent fuel cask. The formulated model and the iterative search procedure are applied to a reference case to demonstrate their utility. An economic analysis of the results was performed to compare the truck and rail transport modes. Results indicate a substantial savings when rail transport is employed. An economic comparison of the cask lease and cask purchase options indicates that cask purchase is preferable for the 23-year planning horizon."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Allocation of spent nuclear fuel transport casks"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.department":["Industrial Engineering and Operations Research"],"dc:creator":["Bethel, Nancy Haynes"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2015-07-28T20:42:16Z"],"dc:date.available":["2015-07-28T20:42:16Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1977"],"dc:description.abstract":["The selection of the form of spent nuclear fuel disposition, currently under debate, will precipitate an immediate requirement for spent-fuel transport regardless of the disposition alternative chosen. In this study, a constrained transportation model of the spent fuel cask scheduling problem is formulated with the objective of determining the minimum number of casks required to meet a fixed transport schedule. An iterative search procedure is employed to determine schedules which minimize cask idle time for each required spent fuel cask. The formulated model and the iterative search procedure are applied to a reference case to demonstrate their utility. An economic analysis of the results was performed to compare the truck and rail transport modes. Results indicate a substantial savings when rail transport is employed. 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