The first HI-TRAN 300 vertical heavy load hauler designed by its Holtec's Nuclear Power Division (NPD) has been manufactured and factory tested by the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Division in Camden, New Jersey.
The HI-TRAN 300 will serve as “the single-failure-proof workhorse for hauling loaded Holtec dry spent fuel storage system components and for executing inter-cask canister transfer,” Holtec said.
The system is also expected to transport heavy loads at Holtec’s SMR-160 plant, which is currently undergoing regulatory review in Canada , and the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility being developed by Holtec in New Mexico.
Holtec said HI-TRAN’s development was undertaken to solve the transporter reliability problems procured from third parties that occasionally have plagued some dry store campaigns in the industry. It has certain unique reliability features that differentiate it from other machines sold in the industry, such as four hydraulic lifters (instead of two, commonly used in the industry) with a total rated lift capacity of 300 tons.
HI-TRAN 300, weighing 267,000 lbs when empty, strides on two parallel caterpillars to minimise ground pressure and has zero turn radius. Its rating is sufficient to haul the heaviest loaded cask supplied by Holtec. Its vertical stroke can be variable depending on service requirements. For example, if used in cask stack-up, HI-TRAN’s vertical range can be as much as 330 inches.
Photo: Artists' rendering of completed HI-TRAN 300
