Pressure Build-Up During the Fire Test in Type B(U) Packages Containing Water - 13280
- BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 44, 12205 Berlin (Germany)
The safety assessment of packages for the transport of radioactive materials with content containing liquids requires special consideration. The main focus is on water as supplementary liquid content in Type B(U) packages. A typical content of a Type B(U) package is ion exchange resin, waste of a nuclear power plant, which is not dried, normally only drained. Besides the saturated ion exchange resin, a small amount of free water can be included in these contents. Compared to the safety assessment of packages with dry content, attention must be paid to some more specific issues. An overview of these issues is provided. The physical and chemical compatibility of the content itself and the content compatibility with the packages materials must be demonstrated for the assessment. Regarding the mechanical resistance the package has to withstand the forces resulting from the freezing liquid. The most interesting point, however, is the pressure build-up inside the package due to vaporization. This could for example be caused by radiolysis of the liquid and must be taken into account for the storage period. If the package is stressed by the total inner pressure, this pressure leads to mechanical loads to the package body, the lid and the lid bolts. Thus, the pressure is the driving force on the gasket system regarding the activity release and a possible loss of tightness. The total pressure in any calculation is the sum of partial pressures of different gases which can be caused by different effects. The pressure build-up inside the package caused by the regulatory thermal test (30 min at 800 deg. C), as part of the cumulative test scenario under accident conditions of transport is discussed primarily. To determine the pressure, the temperature distribution in the content must be calculated for the whole period from beginning of the thermal test until cooling-down. In this case, while calculating the temperature distribution, conduction and radiation as well as evaporation and condensation during the associated process of transport have to be considered. This paper discusses limiting amounts of water inside the cask which could lead to unacceptable pressure and takes into account saturated steam as well as overheated steam. However, the difficulties of assessing casks containing wet content will be discussed. From the authority assessment point of view, drying of the content could be an effective way to avoid the above described pressure build-up and the associated difficulties for the safety assessment. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9-332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22225017
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-13-WM-13280; TRN: US14V0470045972
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2013: Waste Management Conference: International collaboration and continuous improvement, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France; 3 refs.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Safety Aspects of Dry Spent Fuel Storage and Spent Fuel Management - 13559
Consequence Analysis of Residual Water in a Storage Canister (Preliminary Report)
Related Subjects
42 ENGINEERING
CASKS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
EVAPORATION
ION EXCHANGE
LIQUIDS
PARTIAL PRESSURE
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOLYSIS
RESINS
RISK ASSESSMENT
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
TRANSPORT
WATER