TY - CONF A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Schönfelder, Thorsten A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Drop tests assessment of internal shock absorbers for packages loaded with encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel N2 - Damaged spent nuclear fuel (DSNF) can be loaded in German dual-purpose casks (DPC) for transport and interim storage. Encapsulations are needed to guarantee a safe handling and a tight closure, separated from the package enclosure. These encapsulations shall be durable and leak-tight for a long storage period, because they are usually not accessible within periodical inspections of the DPC. Due to the general design of DPCs for standard fuel assemblies, specific requirements have to be considered for the design of encapsulations for DSNF to ensure the loading in existing package designs. Especially the primary lid system of a DPC is designed for maximum loads due to the internal impact of the content during drop test conditions. The main difference of encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel is that they have usually a much higher stiffness than standard fuel assemblies. Therefore the design of an internal shock absorber, e.g. at the head of an encapsulation is required to reduce mechanical loads to the primary lid system during impacts. BAM as part of the German competent authority system is responsible for the safety assessment of the mechanical and thermal package design, the release of radioactive material and the quality assurance of package manufacturing and operation. Concerning the mechanical design of the encapsulation BAM was involved in the comprehensive assessment procedure during the package design approval process. An internal shock absorber was developed by the package designer with numerical analyses and experimental drop tests. Experimental drop tests are needed to cover limiting parameters regarding, e.g. temperature and wall thickness of the shock absorbing element to enable a detailed specification of the whole load-deformation behavior of the encapsulation shock absorber. The paper gives an overview of the assessment work by BAM and points out the main findings which are relevant for an acceptable design of internal shock absorbers. The physical drop tests were planned on the basis of pre-investigations of the applicant concerning shape, dimension and material properties. In advance of the final drop tests the possible internal impact behavior had to be analyzed and the setup of the test facility had to be validated. The planning, performance and evaluation of the final drop tests were witnessed and assessed by BAM. In conclusion it could be approved that the German encapsulation system for damaged spent nuclear fuel with shock absorbing components can be handled similar to standard fuel assemblies in existing package designs. T2 - Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference 2020 CY - Online meeting DA - 03.08.2020 KW - Encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel KW - Drop tests KW - Internal shock absorber KW - Design assessment of RAM packages PY - 2020 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-51546 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Neumeyer, Tino A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Tightness Verification Procedures of Welded Lids for Encapsulations for Damaged Spent Nuclear Fuel in the Design Approval Process of Dual-Purpose Cask (DPC) N2 - Damaged spent nuclear fuel (DSNF) can be loaded in Germany in dual-purpose casks (DPC) for transport and interim storage. Therefore, special encapsulations are needed to guarantee a safe handling and a reliable tight closure. These encapsulations must be durable and leak-tight for a possible long interim storage term and the transport thereafter. Because components inside the package containment like these special encapsulations are not accessible within periodical inspections of the DPC. Due to the general design of DPCs for standard fuel assemblies, specific requirements needed to be considered for the design of the special encapsulations for DSNF to ensure the loading in existing package designs. Especially the content of the encapsulations with damaged spent nuclear fuel must be avoided to enter in the inner space of the DPC, due to the possible higher amount of corrosive and radioactive material as well as greater quantities of water, which can be trapped in defect fuel rods. The main difference of the encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel is that they have no replaceable sealing as tightness barrier. They have a specific welded lid. Therefor the tightness needs to be shown in the design approval process for all transport conditions especially for accident conditions, where high internal impact loads can occur. As German competent authority, BAM is responsible for the safety assessment of the mechanical and thermal design, the release of radioactive material and the quality assurance aspects of manufacturing and operation. Concerning the mechanical package design BAM carried out a comprehensive safety assessment for the specific encapsulations during the package design approval process of the commonly used DPC. For the proof of tightness of the welded lid no representative standards are available. For minor loads the German KTA standards can verify the tightness of a weld seam but only for low stresses. For higher impact loads physical tests are required. These tests were performed with representative drop tests and highly sensitive leak tests. The present paper gives an overview of the applied assessments by BAM and points out the main findings of the mechanical design for the welded sealing. Both verification procedures are described, on one hand with German standards for lower loads and on the other hand with physical tests for higher impact loads. The drop tests based on complex numerical pre-calculations by the applicant which result in optimized dimensions and properties of the test specimens and representative drop heights for the drop tests. The horizontal drop orientation with a plane-parallel impact on the unyielding basement was most challenging and led to specific adaptations during preparation and conduction of the drop tests performed by BAM. With leak tests and the corresponding test evaluation, it could be finally approved that the specific welded sealing of an encapsulations for DSNF is tight for all transport conditions. T2 - ASME PVP 2024 CY - Bellevue, WA, USA DA - 28.07.2024 KW - Tightness verification KW - Weld seams KW - Drop tests KW - Encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel KW - Helium leak tests PY - 2024 SN - 978-0-7918-8851-3 SP - 1 EP - 10 CY - New York AN - OPUS4-61351 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kasparek, Eva Maria A1 - Völzke, Holger A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Zencker, Uwe T1 - Numerical and experimental investigations of polyurethane foam for use as cask impact limiter in accidental drop scenarios T2 - WM2012 - Waste management conference CY - Phoenix, AZ, USA DA - 2012-02-26 KW - Plasticity KW - Finite elements KW - Material models KW - Rate dependency KW - Temperature dependency KW - Compression tests KW - Drop tests KW - Parameter identification PY - 2012 SN - 978-0-9836186-1-4 N1 - Serientitel: WM Symposia – Series title: WM Symposia IS - Paper 12099 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-26270 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -