Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A passively cooled storage module for spent nuclear fuel comprising:an elongated module body defining a top end, a bottom end, a sidewall, and an internal cavity extending between the ends along a longitudinal axis, the internal cavity being configured for holding a fuel storage canister;a plurality of cooling air inlet ducts spaced circumferentially apart around the body, the inlet ducts each forming a radially oriented air inlet passageway fluidly connecting ambient atmosphere with the internal cavity;each air inlet duct having an inlet end opening at an exterior surface of the sidewall and an outlet end opening at an interior surface of the sidewall adjoining the cavity;wherein the air inlet ducts each have a recurving configuration to draw cooling air radially inwards and initially upwards from ambient atmosphere, and then redirect the cooling air downwards through the air inlet duct into a lower part of the internal cavity of the module. 2. The module according to claim 1, wherein the inlet end openings of the air inlet ducts are located at a higher elevation than the outlet end openings. 3. The module according to claim 2, wherein the inlet end openings are located on a lower half of the module and spaced vertically apart from a baseplate affixed to the bottom end of the module by a distance of at least two feet. 4. The module according to claim 3, wherein the inlet end openings of each inlet air duct are located on the lower portion of the module at 25 percent or less than the height of the module. 5. The module according to claim 4, wherein the inlet end openings have a vertically staggered arrangement in which the elevation of the inlet end opening of each air inlet duct is at a different elevation than the inlet end opening of each adjacent inlet air duct. 6. The module according to claim 5, wherein the inlet end openings of the air inlet ducts are radially open directly to ambient atmosphere. 7. The module according to claim 6, wherein the air inlet ducts are formed of piping having a circular cross-sectional shape. 8. The module according to claim 2, wherein the outlet end openings of the air inlet ducts are arranged to discharge cooling air into the lowest-most part of the internal cavity through the sidewall and adjacent to a top surface of a baseplate attached to the bottom end of the module. 9. The module according to claim 8, wherein the outlet end openings of the air inlet ducts are disposed adjacent to the top surface of the base plate. 10. The module according to claim 9, further comprising a plurality of L-shaped support brackets mounted on the base plate, the support brackets being configured to both elevate the canister above the baseplate and center the canister radially in the internal cavity of the module to form a ventilation annulus between the canister and body of the module, and wherein the cooling air is radially discharged from each air inlet duct into a bottom of the annulus via the outlet end openings of the air inlet ducts and flows upwards alongside the canister in the annulus for dissipating heat emitted by the canister. 11. The module according to claim 2, wherein the module body further comprises a sidewall having a composite construction comprised of an inner shell, an outer shell, and a concrete liner disposed between the shells for radiation shielding. 12. The module according to claim 11, wherein each air inlet duct is embedded in the concrete liner. 13. The module according to claim 12, wherein the inner and outer shells of the module body are structurally tied together via a plurality of vertically oriented upper and lower radial shell interconnector plates welded to the shells and embedded in the concrete liner. 14. The module according to claim 2, wherein the air inlet ducts each have a mitered multi-angled configuration comprising a first linear section adjoining the inlet end opening and a second linear section adjoining the first linear section at a miter joint, the first and second linear sections being obliquely angled to each other and the longitudinal axis of the module. 15. The module according to claim 14, further comprising a perforated radiation shield disposed at the miter joint and oriented transversely the first and second linear sections. 16. The module according to claim 1, wherein each air inlet duct comprises an inlet section adjoining to the exterior inlet end opening which is obliquely angled in an upwards direction to the longitudinal axis of the module, an outlet section adjoining the outlet end opening, and an intermediate section extending between the inlet and outlet sections. 17. The module according to claim 1, wherein each inlet duct includes a radiation shielding member abuttingly attached to a top of the inlet duct, the radiation shielding member being configured to conform to the inlet duct. 18. The module according to claim 1, further comprising a lid detachably coupled to the top end of the module for enclosing the internal cavity, the lid being configured to form air outlet ducts at an interface between the lid and top end of the module oriented to radially discharge heated cooling air from the internal cavity of the module outwards to atmosphere. 19. A ventilated dry storage system for passive cooling of spent nuclear fuel, the system comprising:an elongated module defining a top end, a bottom end, and a sidewall extending between the ends defining an internal cavity extending along a longitudinal axis;the sidewall including an inner shell, an outer shell, a radiation shielding fill material disposed between the shells;a plurality of radially oriented interconnector plates embedded in the fill material and welded to the inner and outer shells to rigidly couple shells together;a base plate sealingly affixed to the bottom end of the module;a removable lid detachably coupled to the top end of the module;a fuel storage canister disposed in the internal cavity and containing heat-emitting spent nuclear fuel;a plurality of cooling air inlet ducts each forming a radially oriented air inlet passageway through the fill material of the module and configured to fluidly connect ambient atmosphere with the internal cavity;wherein each of the interconnector plates are disposed between adjacent ones of the air inlet ducts.