Patent ID: 8548112

Claim:
A basket for transporting and/or storing spent nuclear fuel rods comprising: a gridwork of slotted plates arranged in an intersecting rectilinear configuration and constructed of a metal matrix composite material, the gridwork of plates forming a plurality of cells for receiving spent nuclear fuel rods; a first pair of parallel flux traps extending between opposing lateral sides of the basket, each of the first pair of flux traps having a substantially constant width extending between the opposing lateral sides; a second pair of parallel flux traps extending substantially perpendicular to the first pair of parallel flux traps and extending between opposing lateral sides of the basket, and each of the second pair of flux traps having a substantially constant width extending between the opposing lateral sides; wherein each of the flux traps of the first and second pairs is a space formed between two of the slotted plates that extend substantially parallel to one another; at least one of the first pair of flux traps intersects at least one of the second pair of flux traps; four groups of the cells located outside of the first and second pairs of flux traps, the four groups separated from one another by the first pair of flux traps and the second pair of flux traps, and wherein adjacent cells in each of the four groups are separated from one another by a wall thickness formed by only a single slotted plate; and wherein the four groups are free of flux traps.