Characterization of the spent fuel from the MYRRHA core

MYRRHA is a flexible irradiation facility to be constructed at SCK-CEN of which pre-design studies have been initiated since June 1996. Two in-vessel fuel storages, each with enough capacity to accommodate one full core discharge, have been foreseen for cooling down spent fuel assemblies. These storages are also used during reshuffling to temporarily house fuel assemblies. Burn up calculations have been performed for the core configuration previously referred to, thus characterizing the spent fuel intended for in-vessel storage. Post-discharge decay heat generation, beta and gamma radiation levels have been investigated with the intention of defining an optimal in-vessel cooling time and recommendations for a vessel discharge procedure.