Drop tests and numerical impact analyses of new cask designs for High Activity Waste (Haw) and spent fuel - updated BAM design testing experiences

Conference · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2007

OSTI ID:21294675

Volzke, H; Zencker, U; Qiao, L; Feutlinske, K; Musolff, A ^[1]

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1. Bundesanstalt fur Materialforschung und -prufung (BAM), Berlin (Germany)

In Germany, several new cask designs by international vendors (Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear Service mbH (GNS), TN International (TNI), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)) are under design testing and within official licensing procedures for transport and storage casks for spent fuel and high activity waste (HAW). BAM (the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) has been performing several extensive drop test series with prototype casks to evaluate the safety margins against mechanical test conditions. An important project is the new GNS cask design for HAW, the CASTOR{sup R} HAW 28M. Sixteen drop tests have been performed under transport conditions with a 1:2 scale cask model equipped with impact limiters and extensively instrumented with strain gauges and accelerometers. Additionally, the accident scenario inside a storage facility has been investigated by a cask drop without impact limiters onto a nearly unyielding target. This scenario is dominated by highly dynamic effects and interactions between the test object and the target. Complete safety assessments for such mechanical accident scenarios and highly loaded cask structures require additional numerical investigations. They are done by complex finite element (FE) calculations that provide detailed dynamic stress and strain analyses all over the cask structure and at such points where sensors can't be applied. In addition, differences between the material property quantities of the prototype cask and the minimum material property requirements for the cask series production can be investigated as well as dimensional tolerances. By example, the safety assessment method and some of its special aspects are illustrated by the cask drop without an impact limiter onto a hard foundation. The main aspects and challenges are to develop a sufficient computer model of the cask and foundation and to provide detailed interpretation of the large amount of measurement data for achieving good correlation between experimental and numerical results. (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 21294675
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--09-WM-07145
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ACCELEROMETERS
CASKS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DESIGN
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LICENSING PROCEDURES
MECHANICAL TESTS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SAFETY MARGINS
SPENT FUELS
STORAGE FACILITIES
STRAIN GAGES
STRESSES
WASTE TRANSPORTATION