TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Schubert, Sven A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Sterthaus, Jens A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Reflection on BAM mechanical design assessment of TN®24E spent fuel transport package N2 - TN®24 E, a new package design, was developed and applied for by Areva TN for German transport approval certificate. The certificate was issued by BfS, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, on 24th of July 2013. The package is designed as a dual purpose cask for transport and storage of up to 21 PWR spent fuel assemblies from German NPPs. BAM is the German competent authority responsible for the design assessment of RAM packages regarding mechanical and thermal safety cases, activity release analysis and all issues of quality assurance during manufacturing and operation of packages. Certain assessment experiences as well as new developments resulting from the BAM TN®24E approval procedure are presented. The mechanical safety case of the TN®24E is based mainly on finite element calculations, which were verified by the TN®81 1/3 scale drop test program performed at BAM. Thermal analyses rely upon calculations, while the activity release criterion is based upon leakage rate results of TN®81 drop tests. The BAM-GGR 012 guideline for the analysis of bolted lid and trunnion systems has been fully implemented. Due to requirements by BAM, AREVA TN developed a new assessment strategy for fracture mechanical evaluation of welding seams. The material qualification and documentation is also an important aspect of BAM assessment; the qualification of borated aluminum basket material, the determination of strength values for thermal aged hardened aluminum alloys for the basket or consideration of high burn-up fuel assemblies are remarkable issues in this context. In addition, the consideration of the material compatibility, especially taking into account a transport after 40 years of dry interim storage in German facilities, has gained significant importance in the licensing process of the TN®24E. Next to obvious mechanical issues such as the assessment of shell ovalization under 9 m drop test scenario and its impact on basket load, thermo-mechanical interactions had to be addressed in the safety case. Due to BAM requirements, AREVA TN performed a full thermo-mechanical analysis of the cask behavior under fire test conditions. T2 - PATRAM 2013 - 17th International symposium on the packaging and transportation of radioactive materials CY - San Francisco, CA, USA DA - 18.08.2013 KW - Transport KW - RAM KW - Radioactive material cask KW - Nuclear fuel PY - 2013 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Omnipress AN - OPUS4-30270 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Eisenacher, Germar A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Crushing characteristics of spruce wood used in impact limiters of type B packages N2 - The material spruce wood is frequently used in impact limiters of Type B transport packages. In order to develop and parametrize an appropriate finite element material model, the crushing characteristics of spruce wood have been determined. A large number of crush tests was performed at BAM test facilities to generate a comprehensive data base. The parameter range in the crush test series results amongst others from the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material: e. g., the minimum temperature considered was -40 °C and the maximum strain rate applied was derived from the 9 m drop test. Cubical spruce wood specimens were tested using a servo hydraulic impact testing machine for initial strain rates of up to 30 1/s. A machine for guided drop tests was used for initial strain rates of up to 133 1/s. Drop masses of up to 1,200 kg were therefore used from drop heights of up to 9 m. The results presented in the paper include force-displacement characteristics and deformation behavior of spruce wood. Thereby the effects of strain rate, temperature, fiber-load orientation and lateral constraint are considered. Higher strain rates led to increasing crush forces, especially for loading perpendicular to the fiber. Higher temperature resulted in decreasing crush forces. The crush force level was significantly lower for load perpendicular to the fiber and the crushing characteristics differed compared to load parallel to the fiber. Without lateral constraint, the specimens expanded laterally, i. e. the plastic Poisson's ratio (if wood is considered a continuum) was not zero. Crush forces were comparably low and for load parallel to the fiber there was a significant softening effect. Lateral constraint of the specimens increased the crush force level and limited the softening effect. The results of the crush tests are used to derive modeling requirements and some assumptions for the development of a finite element material model for spruce wood. Possible future research work is pointed out. T2 - PATRAM 2013 - 17th International symposium on the packaging and transportation of radioactive materials CY - San Francisco, CA, USA DA - 18.08.2013 KW - Spruce wood KW - Crush test KW - Impact limiter PY - 2013 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Omnipress AN - OPUS4-30219 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Eisenacher, Germar A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Droste, Bernhard A1 - Neumann, Martin T1 - Modeling of wood filled impact limiters for transport packages - 14111 N2 - Packages for the transport of SNF and HLW are usually equipped with impact limiters to reduce the loads that result from the regulatory 9 m drop test. A common impact limiter design in Germany is a welded steel sheet structure filled with wood. The material wood is the main energy absorber, while the steel sheet provides the integrity of the impact limiter. The IAEA allows mechanical safety cases of transport packages to be carried out computationally, as long as the models used are reliable. In this context, a Finite Element (FE) modeling approach for wood and its application to impact limiters in the calculation of a 9 m drop test is presented. A user material model for wood was developed for the dynamic FE-Code LS-DYNA. Its features are based on a series of crush tests with spruce wood specimens. The model considers wood as a material with transversely isotropic properties, i.e. in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the fiber. The plastic material behavior depends on the state of stress. This has shown to be important to account for the lateral constraint of wood in impact limiters resulting from steel sheet encapsulation. Lateral constraint or respectively, a multiaxial stress state, increases the compression strength level of wood, limits the softening effect and increases the hardening effect. Lateral constraint also increases volumetric and reduces deviatoric deformation. The wood material model considers various hardening and softening characteristics via input flow curves. It considers effects of temperature and strain rate on strength as well. The development of a multi-surface yield criterion and a plastic potential that enables the user input of plastic Poisson's ratios were the challenges during the development of material model. A dynamic FE calculation of a horizontal drop test with an 18,000 kg test package was performed. The wood material model was used to model the wooden impact limiter inlays. The impact limiter deformation and the package deceleration were compared to the experimental drop test results to rate the performance of the wood material model. T2 - WM2014 Conference CY - Phoenix, Arizona, USA DA - 02.03.2014 KW - Transport package KW - Radioactive material KW - Spruce wood KW - Impact limiter KW - Material model KW - Finite element PY - 2014 SN - 978-0-9836186-3-8 SP - 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-30653 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Package Trunnion Design in Germany T2 - IAEA Working Group Meetin on Tie-Down System Design CY - IAEA, Vienna, Austria DA - 2014-11-05 PY - 2014 AN - OPUS4-32245 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Approaches of Trunnion Design T2 - IAEA Working Group Meeting on Tie-Down System Design CY - IAEA Vienna, Austria DA - 2015-02-23 PY - 2015 AN - OPUS4-32791 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Experience feedback from BAM safety assessment of transport packages N2 - BAM as competent authority regarding assessment of mechanical and thermal design, activity release and quality assurance measures of Type-B(U) transport packages developed a thesaurus of experience feedback topics from recent assessment procedures. The list is structured according to the European PDSR guide. It involves issues, which from BAM's point of view, needed clarification during the last package design assessment procedures. The list contains issues from Operation (e.g. deactivation of handling lugs not intended for package handling), maintenance (e.g. leak tightness of impact limiting devices) to technical assessment (e.g. formation of hydrogen by radiolysis and its impact on pressure and ignitability, consideration of ageing mechanisms, thermo-mechanical assessment, impact of gaps between content and flask) as well as to general and specific safety analysis report requirements (e.g. report structure and required data). T2 - RAMTRANS 2015 - 10th International conference on radioactive materials transport and storage CY - Oxford, UK DA - 19.05.2015 KW - Transport KW - RAM KW - Radioactive material KW - Cask KW - Flask KW - Nuclear fuel PY - 2015 SP - 1 EP - 7 AN - OPUS4-33420 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Fracture Mechanical Analyses of a Welding Seam of a Thick-Walled Transport Package N2 - Transport packages shall satisfy various safety criteria regarding mechanical, thermal and radiation phenomena. Typical requirements focusing mechanical aspects are usually drop tests in accordance with IAEA regulations. The drop tests are usually carried out experimentally and, as an additional measure, finite element analyses (FEA) are performed. A specific part of the investigations presented is the evaluation of the welding seam connecting cask shell and cask bottom. Experimental results and FEA are presented and compared. The evaluation of the welding seam performed includes a variety of aspects. In addition to the experimental and analytical stresses determined, different standards are used to investigate a possible crack initiation. Several destructive and non-destructive tests are performed for quality assurance in the manufacturing process as well as for different input parameters. The necessary monitoring and non-destructive measurement methods to define the boundary conditions of the standards are introduced. Taking into account all required parameters, the welding seam is examined and evaluated using the failure assessment diagrams (FAD) of the respective standards. It can be shown under the given boundary conditions that considering the experimental data, the welding seam is in the context of crack initiation below the enveloping curve in the acceptable region. More critical drop tests to be conducted are proposed and need to be investigated in future work. T2 - Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference® 2022 CY - Las Vegas, NV, USA DA - 17.07.2022 KW - Transport package KW - Drop test KW - Fracture initiation PY - 2022 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-55375 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schubert, Sven A1 - Reichardt, Adrian A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Neumann, Martin T1 - Introduction of an ageing management approach for packages for the transport of radioactive materials N2 - With integration of the new para 613A into SSR-6 [1] the consideration of ageing mechanisms is now obligatory for the design of packages and their approval. In addition, para 809(f) of SSR-6 [1] requires consideration of the effects of storage on ageing mechanisms, safety analyses and operation and maintenance instructions. German competent authorities Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) and Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung (BASE) are considering the aspect of ageing in approval procedures. Ageing assessment is mainly focused on dual purpose casks (DPC) package designs which are long-term stored in interim storage facilities. For these package designs, the evaluation of ageing management is now mandatory for the maintenance of the package design approvals with a validity period of 5 years and beyond. The ageing management includes amongst others a gap analysis, the assessment of ageing effects and operational experiences during operation and interim storage. BAM works on the compilation of a guideline for implementation of paras 613A, 809(f) and 809(k) for packages requiring competent authority approval at the application procedure in Germany. The paper describes essential items of ageing mechanisms and will give a foresight to the ageing management evaluation by BAM. T2 - INMM & ESARDA Joint Annual Meeting CY - Online meeting DA - 30.08.2021 KW - Dual purpose casks KW - Ageing KW - SSR-6 KW - Interim storage KW - Ageing mechanisms KW - Transport of radaioactive materials PY - 2021 UR - https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/10383/presentation/964 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) CY - Mount Laurel, NJ AN - OPUS4-53180 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schubert, Sven A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Reichardt, Adrian A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Experiences with the implementation of ageing management for packages for transport of radioactive materials in Germany N2 - The consideration of ageing mechanisms is now obligatory for the design of transport packages with integration of the para 613A into IAEA SSR-6 (Rev. 1). In addition, para 809(f) of SSR-6 (Rev. 1) requires for packages intended to be used for shipment after storage the consideration of the effects of ageing mechanisms during storage in safety analyses and the implementation of corresponding instructions for operation and maintenance. Para 503(e) requires that these packages have been maintained during storage in a manner that all requirements specified in SSR-6 (Rev.1) and in the applicable certificates of approval have been fulfilled. The evaluation of ageing mechanisms and their effects including monitoring are part of BAM’s authority assessment tasks related to the mechanical and thermal package design and quality assurance aspects. BAM has compiled the guideline BAM-GGR 023 for the implementation of ageing assessment and related measures into the approval procedure. The implementation of ageing management measures is obligatory in case of extension/renewal of package design approval certificates. BAM has evaluated package designs which are used only for transport as well as package designs for long term interim storage. The assessment of ageing mechanisms associated with the identification of ageing effects on components is the main part of the ageing management plan (AMP). Different approaches regarding AMP structure are introduced. Experiences and approaches about the evaluation of components for the expected package operating time are shown. We are focusing the evaluations of proofs for not accessible and not replaceable components. Operational experiences for these package designs are available and should be considered in the ageing evaluation. Corresponding measures for package monitoring are to be derived based on these results. The measures for monitoring shall be fixed in the Ageing Surveillance Program (ASP) to maintain a specification conform package for the transport on public routes. We show exemplary how results from ageing evaluation during the approval procedure are transferred into the ASP. T2 - PATRAM 2025 CY - San Antonio, Texas , US DA - 27.07.2025 KW - RAM KW - Ageing management KW - Radioactive material KW - Transport PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - INMM CY - Washington D.C. AN - OPUS4-63987 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Feldkamp, Martin A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Conclusions from the first return campaign of vitrified High-Level Waste on sea going vessels from the competent authority N2 - Germany has to take back vitrified waste from the reprocessing plants in France and Great Britain. The waste resulted from decades of transporting spent fuel for reprocessing to La Hague and Sellafield. The return campaign from France was concluded in 2024 with the transport of five CASTOR® HAW28M casks to the interim storage facility in Philippsburg in southern Germany. The return of waste from Sellafield comprises three campaigns and a total of 20 CASTOR® HAW28M casks. The first campaign was performed in 2020, consisting of six CASTOR® HAW28M casks, while the second campaign was performed in March 2025, consisting of seven CASTOR® HAW28M casks. The casks were transported by rail from Sellafield to the port in Barrow-in-Furness, where they were loaded into a dedicated seagoing vessel, certified as INF Class 3 according to the INF Code. This was the first time that vitrified high level waste with considerable heat load was transported under a German design approval certificate. The third campaign is expected to be performed during 2026. BAM as part of the German competent authority system was among others involved in the assessment of the sea transport. BAM required for the first transport, among others, an assessment of temperature distribution during transport, logging of temperatures of cargo bays and graphical imaging of temperatures of the bay with the cask to ensure compliance with temperature specifications, e.g. maximal neutron absorber and gasket temperatures. Special interest was taken in the identification of possible events exceeding the specified temperatures considering the different philosophies of the IMDG code and its supplement the INF code regarding temperature control of hatches. Results show compliance with assumed conditions. T2 - PATRAM 2025 CY - San Antonio, Texas, USA DA - 27.07.2025 KW - RAM KW - Transport KW - Radioactive material KW - Sea PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - INMM CY - Washington D.C. AN - OPUS4-63984 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Neumeyer, Tino A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Thightness Assessment of welded Lids for Encapsulations of damaged Spent Nuclear Fuel in the Design Approval Process of Dual-Purpose Casks (DPC) N2 - The disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Germany is ensured using dual-purpose casks (DPC) for transport and interim storage. The leak tightness of the DPC and resulting containment is one of the most important aspects. Additional encapsulations are required for damaged spent nuclear fuel (DSNF) to guarantee safe handling and a separate tight closure. Due to the general design of DPCs for standard fuel assemblies should special requirements be considered for the design of the encapsulations for DSNF to ensure the loading in existing package designs. The absence of a replaceable sealing in the tightness barrier is the main difference for the encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel. Instead, they are welded shut with a lid. The leak tightness of the encapsulation shall be proven in the design approval process for all transport conditions. This is especially valid for accident conditions of transport, where high internal impact forces may occur. BAM as German competent authority is responsible for the safety assessment of mechanical and thermal design, retention of radioactive material and quality assurance aspects of manufacturing and operation. BAM carried out a comprehensive safety assessment concerning the mechanical package design. As there are no representative standards for verifying the leak tightness of a welded lid, two approaches were being pursued. Established German standards may be used for verifying the leak tightness of a weld - but limited to low stresses. Therefore, physical tests were required for higher impact loads. Representative drop tests and highly sensitive leakage tests were performed. The paper presents an overview of the containment assessment by BAM and points out the main findings for the design of welds regarding leak tightness. 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 leak tightness of the encapsulation weld could be approved based on leakage tests and a corresponding evaluation for all transport conditions. T2 - PATRAM 2025 CY - San Antonio, Texas, USA DA - 27.07.2025 KW - Transport packages KW - Tightness assessment KW - Welded lids KW - Encapsulations PY - 2025 VL - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) CY - Indianapolis AN - OPUS4-64023 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Naster, Maximilian A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Experimental and numerical analyses of hydrogen flames for the thermal testing of transport packages for radioactive material N2 - In this paper we present an update of the hydrogen based test rig for an ongoing feasibility study of using hydrogen as an energy source for the thermal testing of transport packages containing radioactive materials [ The test rig is capable of combusting hydrogen for a wide range of different burner geometries, mass flows , hydrogen blends and single jet flame operation s as well as a full array of burners for thermal testing can be set up. As this type of fire test according to the IAEA boundary conditions does not yet exist, a large number of preliminary investigations, safety assessments and simulations must be carried out in order to develop a viable concept for hydrogen fires. In a first step of the feasibility study, the temperature , structure, and radiative behavior of hydrogen jet flames must be surveyed. The simulation with a single hydrogen flame was investigated in a previous work. In the next step the results are used to study the interaction and structural behavior of multiple jet flames in proximity with varying nozzle distances. With the test rig completed, it will be possible in future works to design burner frames suitable for fire reference tests to make comparisons with pool and propane fires used in assessment procedure today. Thus, preliminary comparative numerical simulations are conducted to model the behavior of overlapping hydrogen jet flames using the software package Ansys®. This paper gives an overview on the current state and design of the test rig. Furthermore, the results of the simulations show that nozzle geometry, mas s flow and nozzle distance provide significant design margin for designing a test fire capable of fully engulfing a specimen. T2 - PVP2025, Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada DA - 20.07.2025 KW - Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) KW - Fire testing KW - Hydrogen KW - IAEA PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-63864 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Quercetti, Thomas A1 - Feldkamp, Martin A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Musolff, André A1 - Werner, Jan A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Fire Test Stand for Thermal Testing of Large Packages for the Transport of Radioactive Materials N2 - Packages for the transport of high level radioactive materials are designed to withstand severe accidents. These packages must comply with the specific safety requirements SSR 6 [ of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). To guarantee compliance with these requirements, specific mechanical and thermal tests need to be addressed r egard ing the package type. Typically, the r egulations prescribe mechanical tests followed by a thermal test as part of a cumulative test scenario. The thermal test is specified by the exposure of a test specimen for a period of 30 minutes to a thermal environment that provides a heat flux equivalent to that of a hydrocarbon fuel air fire with an av erage fire temperature of at least 800 °C fully flame engulfing the test specimen. The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) operates various test facilities for this purpose at their Test Site for Technical Safety (near Berlin in Germany). Thermal tests for large packages are conducted in an established fire test stand that may be adapted by the test setup to the geometric boundary conditions of a test specimen. This fire test stand is built for test specimens with masses up to 200,000 kg an d geometric dimensions relating to large transport packages including their impact limiters. The test specimen is usually placed on a water cooled support frame in the middle of the test stand. The fire is realized by burning propane gas which is released in liquid state from an array of gas nozzles arranged in the form of a burner ring surrounding the test specimen. For particularly extra large test specimens, two burner rings are used on top of each other and at different heights to firstly achieve full f ire engulfment with a significantly larger volume of fire and secondly to achieve the required heat output , cf. In advance of a regular thermal test BAM usually performs so called fire reference tests to determine the test conditions for compliance with the IAEA requirements. These tests are performed using a generic package which corresponds to the external geometr ic dimensions of the test specimen used later in the approval test. Then, this reference package is exposed to a fire under defined test parameters whereas the corresponding heat input determined from the temperature changes measured is regarded as main cr iterion for proofing compliance with the IAEA criteria. The paper shows the experimental proof of the suitability of BAM’s fire test stand for thermal testing of extra large packages. The heat input and fire temperatures fully meet the IAEA criteria and can also be set significantly higher for example for extra regulatory testing. T2 - PATRAM 2025 CY - San Antonio, TX, USA DA - 27.07.2025 KW - IAEA Regu-lations KW - Fire Test Stand KW - Accident Scenario KW - Fire Qualification PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 10 CY - Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) AN - OPUS4-63872 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Shipment of SCO-II – Authority assessment of mechanical aspects and quality management N2 - The decommissioning of nuclear facilities necessitates either the storage or disposal of large radioactive components such as steam generators, pressurizers, reactor pressure vessels and heads, or coolant pumps. These components or objects are large in size and mass with up to 6 meters in diameter and 20 meters in length and a weight of up to 400 tons. They are often transported to a storage, disposal, or recycling facility. Large components from nuclear facilities may often not be packed and need to be transported unpackaged due to size and weight. T2 - PATRAM 2025 CY - San Antonio, TX, USA DA - 27.07.2025 KW - radioaktive Stoffe, Rückbau kerntechnischer Anlagen, Transport, Gefahrgut PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-63878 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Package safety evaluation in a rapidly changing world N2 - The presentation addressed the evolving challenges and developments in the safety evaluation of transport packages for radioactive materials, especially in light of changing technologies, regulations, and environmental conditions. A key focus was the current situation in Germany: following the final shutdown of commercial nuclear power plants in 2023, efforts are now concentrated on decommissioning, interim storage in dual-purpose casks (DPCs), and the ongoing site selection process for a repository for high-level waste. The expected duration of interim storage exceeds 100 years, demanding robust and sustainable safety strategies. One major topic was ageing management, which goes beyond technical measures to ensure transportability over long periods. It also includes preserving knowledge and expertise for future generations. The regulatory framework includes international standards such as IAEA SSR-6 and SSG-26, as well as national guidance like BAM-GGR 023. It was emphasized the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in safety evaluations. AI can enhance efficiency through automated document analysis and digital data structuring. However, final safety decisions remain the responsibility of human experts, especially given the complexity of documentation and the shortage of skilled personnel. The presentation also addressed changing transport technologies, such as the use of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. These vehicles behave differently in accidents, particularly in battery fires, which can reach temperatures above 1000 °C and last significantly longer than conventional fires. This raises the need to reassess existing fire test criteria. Environmental changes were another key point. With global temperatures rising by 0.26 °C per decade, local safety margin evaluations are becoming increasingly important. Existing regulatory assumptions, such as ambient temperatures of 38 °C, may no longer be sufficient. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is increasing. AI can support model generation, but there is concern about potential skill fading among engineers. Physical testing, such as BAM’s drop towers (up to 200 tons), remains essential for public package safety acceptance. Key takeaways from the talk include: Ageing Management is also about preserving skills and knowledge. Changing technologies and environmental conditions impact package safety. AI can improve efficiency but must be used carefully to avoid skill loss. Physical testing continues to play a vital role in gaining public trust. T2 - PATRAM 2025 CY - San Antonio, Texas, USA DA - 27.07.2025 KW - Artificial Intelligence KW - Package KW - Ageing Management KW - Electric Vehicles KW - Testing PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63879 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Mechanical behaviour of high burn-up SNF under normal and accident transport conditions - present approaches and perspectives - N2 - Transport packages for spent fuel have to meet the International Atomic Energy Agency requirements for different transport conditions. Physical state of spent fuel and fuel rod cladding as well as geometric configuration of fuel assemblies are important inputs for the evaluation of package capabilities under these conditions. In this paper, the mechanical behaviour of high burn-up spent fuel assemblies under transport conditions is analysed with regard to assumptions to be used in the activity release and criticality safety analysis. In particular the different failure modes of the fuel rods (fine cracks or complete breakage), which can cause release of gas, volatiles, fuel particles or fragments have to be properly considered in these assumptions. In view of the complexity of interactions between the fuel rods as well as between fuel assemblies, basket, and cask containment, the exact mechanical analysis of such phenomena is nearly impossible. The gaps in information concerning the material properties of cladding and pellets, especially for the high burn-up fuel, make the analysis more complicated additionally. In this context some practical approaches based on experiences of BAM Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing within safety assessment of packages for transport of spent fuel are discussed. T2 - PSAM 11 ESREL 2012 - 11th International probabilistic safety assessment and management conference & The annual european safety and reliability conference CY - Helsinki, Finland DA - 25.06.2012 KW - Spent fuel KW - High burn-up KW - Transport conditions KW - Mechanical analysis PY - 2012 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-33850 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Feldkamp, Martin A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Quercetti, Thomas A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Evaluation of Convective Heat Transfer Coefficients with CFD for Heat Flux Calculation in Combustion Chamber N2 - Packages for the transport of high-level radioactive waste are designed to withstand severe accidents. To obtain approval for transport, these packages must adhere to the specification-based criteria of regulations established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). To ensure compliance with the regulations, mechanical and thermal tests need to be conducted regarding the package type. The requirements define mechanical tests followed by a thermal test, including criteria ensuring the package design’s ability to withstand severe accidents. Heavy-weight packages for the safe transport of radioactive materials are equipped with impact limiters, which are often built with porous materials such as densely packed wood reinforced by steel sheet structures. These components absorb the kinetic energy during the impact of the package in drop tests and thus dampen the acceleration of other package components which supports the package to meet the requirements of the IAEA regulations. Following the mechanical tests, the package must, with its predamaged impact limiters, endure a thermal test defined precisely in the IAEA regulations. The thermal test is defined as a 30-min, fully engulfing 800 °C fire and a following time under ambient conditions for a sufficient period to ensure that temperatures in the specimen decrease in all parts of the specimen. During and following the thermal test, the specimen shall not be artificially cooled, and any combustion of materials of the specimen shall be permitted to proceed naturally. A wood-filled impact limiter can continue to release thermal energy during an ongoing combustion process, thus defining relevant package temperatures. Heat flux from a potentially burning impact limiter to the package is important for the safety evaluation of transport packages. A test setup was developed to approach the energy flow investigation and examine the combustion behaviour of porous materials encapsulated in predamaged cylindrical metal enclosures under various conditions. The setup consists of a combustion chamber for thermal tests under adjustable and defined boundary conditions. The temperature development of the test specimens can be observed from outside using a thermographic imager with high-definition cameras, and the mass loss of the test specimen can be measured in the combustion chamber. Convective heat transfer coefficients for various boundary conditions must be defined for use with experimentally gathered test specimen surface temperature data for heat flux evaluations. The airflow conditions in the combustion chamber were analysed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations in OpenFOAM with respect to the convective heat transfer coefficients at the surface of a hot test specimen. A convergence study was performed, and sensitivity analyses for different test specimen surface temperatures and exhaust gas volume flows were conducted. T2 - ASME PVP2025, Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada DA - 20.07.2025 KW - Heat Transfer KW - Convection KW - OpenFOAM KW - Combustion PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - American society of mechanical engineers (ASME) AN - OPUS4-63901 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Quercetti, Thomas A1 - Feldkamp, Martin A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Musolff, Andre A1 - Werner, Jan A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - A fire test stand for thermal testing of extra-large packages N2 - Packages for the transport of high-level radioactive materials are designed to withstand severe accidents. These packages must adhere to the specification-based criteria of the International Transport Regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). To ensure compliance with these requirements, specific mechanical and thermal tests need to be addressed with respect to the package type. Typically, the Regulations prescribe mechanical tests followed by a thermal test as part of a cumulative test scenario. The thermal test is specified by the exposure of a test specimen for a period of 30 minutes to a thermal invironment that provides a heat flux equivalent to that of a hydrocarbon fuel-air fire with an average fire temperature of at least 800 °C fully flame engulfing the test specimen. The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) operates various test facilities for this purpose at their test site (TTS) near Berlin in Germany. Thermal tests for large packages are carried out in an established fire test stand that can be adapted by the test-setup to the geometric boundary conditions of a test specimen. This fire test stand is built for test specimens with masses up to 200,000 kg and geometric dimensions relating to large transport packages including their impact limiters. The test specimen is usually placed on a water-cooled support frame in the middle of the test-stand. The fire is realized by burning propane gas which is released in liquid state from an array of gas nozzles arranged in the form of a burner ring surrounding the test specimen. For particularly extra-large test specimens, two burner rings are used on top of each other and at different heights in order to firstly achieve full fire engulfment with a significantly larger volume of fire and secondly to achieve the required heat output. In advance of a regular thermal test BAM usually performs so-called fire reference tests to determine the test conditions for compliance with the IAEA requirements. These tests are performed using a generic package which corresponds to the external geometric dimensions of the test specimen used later in the approval test. Then, this reference package is exposed to a fire under defined test parameters whereas the corresponding heat input determined from the temperature changes measured is regarded as main criterion for proofing compliance with the IAEA criteria.The paper shows the experimental proof of the suitability of BAM’s fire test stand for thermal testing of extra-large packages. The heat input and fire temperatures fully meet the IAEA criteria but can also be set significantly higher for e.g. extra-regulatory testing. T2 - ASME PVP 2025 CY - Montreal, Quebec, Kanada DA - 20.07.2025 KW - Test stand KW - Thermal testing KW - Package KW - Fire PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 6 AN - OPUS4-63892 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schubert, Sven A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Reichardt, Adrian A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Ageing management measures of transport packages for radioactive materials N2 - The consideration of ageing mechanisms is with integration into the IAEA-requirements now obligatory for the design of transport packages. For packages intended to be used for shipment after storage the consideration of the effects of ageing mechanisms during storage in safety analyses and the implementation of corresponding instructions for operation and maintenance are required. Therefore, these packages have been maintained during storage in a manner that all requirements specified in the IAEA-requirements and in the applicable certificates of approval have been fulfilled. BAM is the competent authority in Germany for evaluating the thermal and mechanical design of packages for the transport of radioactive materials. In this context, BAM also evaluates the aging mechanisms and aging effects occurring during the long-term storage period of such transport packages. BAM has developed a guideline for the implementation of ageing assessment and of the measures for ageing management into the approval procedure based on IAEA-requirements. The goal of the presented paper is to introduce this guideline and the general approach for ageing management requirements and to describe the application to a specific package design. The type and amount of the ageing management not only depend on the use of the packaging, but also on the accessibility of the components that are considered in the ageing assessment. The different operating phases of a packaging are considered for the ageing assessment, such as loading, interim storage or transport. The implementation of measures for ageing management is divided into three levels – systemic measures, package design related measures and documentation. The systemic measures are attributed to the general management system and define the whole activities for organization of ageing management like structure, responsibilities, documentation, reports and evaluation. The package design related measures are defined in an ageing management plan. These measures shall ensure that the anticipated changes of the package design under consideration of ageing effects still complies with the design approval specification. Therefore, an ageing surveillance program and, if necessary, a gap analysis program shall be developed. The ageing management documentation ensures the continuous documentation of the compliance of a specific package to the approved package design, comprising mainly records resulting from operation and surveillance. T2 - RAMTRANS 2024 CY - London, United Kingdom DA - 15.05.2024 KW - Radioactive Materials KW - Ageing Management KW - Transport Packages KW - Dual Purpose Casks PY - 2024 VL - 2024 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Nuclear Institute CY - London AN - OPUS4-60186 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Weber, Mike A1 - Qiao, Linan A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Mechanical assessment within type B packages approval: application of static and dynamic calculation approaches N2 - This paper demonstrates exemplarily how numerical and experimental approaches can be combined reasonably in mechanical assessment of package integrity according to the IAEA regulations. The paper also concentrates on the question about how static mechanical approaches can be applied, and what their problems are in relation to dynamic calculation approaches. Under defined impact tests, which represent accident transport conditions, the package has to withstand impact loading, e.g. resulting from a 9 m free drop onto an unyielding target in sequence with a 1 m puncture drop test. Owing to the local character of the interaction between the puncture bar and the cask body, it is possible to develop a dynamic numerical model for the 1 m puncture drop which allows an appropriate simulation of the interaction area. Results from existing experimental drop tests with prototype or small scale cask models can be used for verification and validation of applied analysis codes and models. The link between analysis and experimental drop testing is described exemplarily by considering a regulatory 1 m puncture bar drop test onto the cask body of a recently approved German high level waste transport package. For the 9 m drop test of the package, it is difficult to develop a dynamic numerical model of the package due to the complexity of the interaction between cask body, impact limiters and unyielding target. Dynamic calculations require an extensive verification with experimental results. The simulation of a 9 m drop of a package with impact limiters is thereby often more complex than the simulation of a 1 m puncture drop onto the cask body. A different approximation method can be applied for the consideration of dynamic effects on the impact loading of the package. In a first step, maximum impact force and rigid body deceleration of the cask body during the impact process can be calculated with simplified numerical tools. This rigid body deceleration can subsequently be applied on a verified static numerical model. Dynamic effects, which cannot be covered by the static numerical analysis, have therefore to be considered by using an additional dynamic factor. The paper describes this approach exemplarily for a 9 m horizontal drop of a typical spent fuel cask design. KW - Package assessment KW - Package KW - Packaging KW - Structural analysis PY - 2011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1179/1746510911Y.0000000012 SN - 1746-5095 SN - 1746-5109 SN - 0957-476X VL - 22 IS - 4 SP - 179 EP - 183 PB - Ramtrans Publ. CY - Ashford AN - OPUS4-26448 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Eisenacher, Germar A1 - Schönfelder, Thorsten A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Finite element simulation of the crush of package components made of encapsulated wood N2 - Typical transport packages used in Germany are equipped with encapsulated wooden impact limiting devices. We would like to present the current status regarding the development of a Finite Element (FE) material model for the crush of wood for the FE-code LS-DYNA. The crush of is a phenomenon governed by macroscopic fracture. Here, we would like to reproduce fracture and failure mechanisms over the continuous volume. In a first step we altered an existing LS-DYNA material model for foams, which considers an ellipse shaped yield surface. For the use for longitudinal compression of wood, we modified the existing material model to consider the deviatoric strain for the evolution of the yield surface as well. This is in accordance with the results of crush tests with spruce wood specimens, where the crushing deformation was rather deviatoric for uniaxial stress states and rather volumetric for multiaxial stress states We rate the basic idea of this approach to be reasonable, though other problems exist regarding the shape of the yield surface and the assumption of isotropic material properties. Therefore we developed a new transversal isotropic material model with two main directions, which considers different yield curves according to the multiaxiality of the stress state via a multi-surface yield criterion and a non-associated flow rule. The results show the ability to reproduce the basic strength characteristics of spruce wood. Nevertheless, problems with regularization etc. show that additional investigations are necessary. T2 - 11th International Conference on the Transport, Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Materials CY - London, UK DA - 15.05.2018 KW - Wood KW - FEM PY - 2018 SP - Paper 18517, 1 EP - 12 AN - OPUS4-45091 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Modelling of compression of wood filled impact limiter of casks for transportation of radioactive material N2 - Impact limiters of packages for transport of radioactive materials are in Germany typically steel-wood-sandwich-constructions, combining a relatively stiff steel structure bolted to the cask body, outer steel plates and different types of wood. By crushing the wood-steel-sandwich-structure between unyielding target and cask, kinetic energy of 9-m-free-fall is absorbed. Main energy absorber is wood under a high level of deformation. Wood under large deformations exhibits destruction of the fibre matrix. By analysing compression of impact limiter wood after drop tests with prototype casks for radioactive material, underlying mechanisms of wood crushing and corresponding energy absorption under large deformations are identified. Softening occurring at compression of wood is a function of lateral strain restriction of wood. Against the background of continuum mechanics an analogous model for compression of fibre bundle is presented. The model takes lateral strain restriction as triaxiality of stress state into account. Further modelling possibilities for wood with a continuum approach are described. Different material laws in the explicit Finite Element code LS-DYNA are analysed for possible application on the analogous model for the fibre bundle. Small scale compression tests with wooden specimens were modelled in order to evaluate the ability of different modelling techniques to simulate softening. Although modelling of compression of wood under large deformations is possible, softening could not be simulated purposefully. A drop test of a cask with impact limiting devices similar to existing impact limiters is simulated with different material laws for wood. Behaviour of impact limiting devices could not be simulated universally including influence of lateral strain restriction; nevertheless loading of the cask by crushing of impact limiter could be simulated purposefully. Verification with experimental results is compulsory. T2 - Ramtransport 09 - 8th International Conference on radioactive materials transport 2009 CY - Manchester, Great Britain DA - 2009-05-12 KW - Radioactive material KW - Transport KW - Impact limiter KW - Simulation KW - FEM PY - 2009 IS - PAP31 SP - 1 EP - 20 AN - OPUS4-19751 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Weber, Mike A1 - Qiao, Linan A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Static and dynamic calculation approaches for mechanical design assessment of type B packages for radioactive material transport - 10193 T2 - WM2010 Conference CY - Phoenix, Arizona, USA DA - 2010-03-07 KW - Mechanische Bewertung KW - Radioaktives Material KW - Numerische Analyse KW - Typ B(U)-Verpackung PY - 2010 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-21240 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Rechnerische Simulation des mechanischen Verhaltens von holzgefüllten Stoßdämpfern von Transportbehältern für radioaktive Stoffe N2 - Basierend auf Fallversuchen mit Transportbehältern für radioaktive Stoffe sowie auf einem Versuchsprogramm mit Holzproben wurden die Energieabsorptionsmechanismen identifiziert und ein Modell für das Verhalten von Fichtenholz bei axialer Belastung entwickelt. Das Modell zieht für die Kompression von Holz die seitliche Dehnungsbehinderung – im kontinuumsmechanischen Zusammenhang wäre das die Mehrachsigkeit des Spannungszustandes im Kontinuum – in Betracht. Die Energie, die vom Holz absorbiert werden kann, ist umso größer, je größer die seitliche Dehnungsbehinderung ist. Für die Modellierung mit Finite Elemente Methoden wurden verschiedene Modellierungsstrategien untersucht, keine der vorgeschlagenen Modellierungsstrategien war in der Lage, dass Verhalten von Holz bei Druckbeanspruchung und großen Deformationen inkl. der Entfestigung zu modellieren. Bei Verwendung einer entfestigenden Fließkurve zeigt das Modell ausgeprägte Netzabhängigkeiten und numerischen Instabilitäten. Für die Modellierung der Entfestigung mit Hilfe einer von der Mehrachsigkeit des Spannungszustandes gesteuerten Fließflächenevolution ist kein geeignetes Materialmodell vorhanden. Anhand der Simulation eines Fallversuchs mit einem Behälterkörper und stoßdämpfenden Bauteilen im Maßstab 1:2 wurde gezeigt, dass zwar eine vollständige Modellierung des Stoßdämpferverhaltens inkl. Entfestigung nicht möglich war, aber das Stoßdämpferverhalten mit einer nicht-entfestigenden Fließkurve sinnvoll modelliert werden konnte. Eine Verifikation des Modellierungsansatzes am real zu modellierenden Bauteil ist zwingend erforderlich. Wenn signifikante Änderungen zwischen Verifikations- und Simulationsobjekt auftreten, ist die Zuverlässigkeit der Rechenergebnis als gering zu bewerten. Nur wenn die auftretenden Kompressionsmechanismen durch eine Analyse des Stoßdämpferholzes bestimmt werden können, ist eine zuverlässige Ermittlung von Stoßdämpferkräften- und verformungen möglich. T2 - Jahrestagung Kerntechnik 2011 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 17.05.2011 KW - Radioaktive Stoffe KW - Transport KW - Stoßdämpfende Bauteile KW - FEM KW - Simulation PY - 2011 SP - 1 EP - 6 AN - OPUS4-23851 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Estimation of cask deceleration and impact limiter deformation under 9m drop test conditions using the calculation tool “ImpactCalc” T2 - PATRAM 2007, 15th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials CY - Miami, Florida, USA DA - 2007-10-21 KW - Impact limiter KW - Calculation KW - Maximum deceleration KW - Maximum deformation PY - 2007 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Institute of Nuclear Materials Management AN - OPUS4-17496 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Droste, Bernhard A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Using Scale Model Impact Limiter in the Type Assessment of Transport Casks for Radioactive Material T2 - PATRAM 2007, 15th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials CY - Miami, Florida, USA DA - 2007-10-21 KW - Impact limiter KW - Similarity KW - Scaling PY - 2007 IS - (Abstract # 86) SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Institute of Nuclear Materials Management AN - OPUS4-17495 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor T1 - Approximation of package deceleration and shock absorber deformation under 9 m drop test conditions using simplified numerical tool ImpactCalc KW - Impact limiter KW - Calculation KW - Maximum deceleration KW - Maximum deformation PY - 2008 SN - 1746-5095 SN - 1746-5109 SN - 0957-476X VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 35 EP - 40 PB - Ramtrans Publ. CY - Ashford AN - OPUS4-17499 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Scale model impact limiter in type assessment of radioactive material transport packages KW - Impact limiter KW - Shock absorber KW - Scaling KW - Radioactive KW - Material KW - Transport KW - Cask PY - 2008 SN - 1746-5095 SN - 1746-5109 SN - 0957-476X VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 53 EP - 57 PB - Ramtrans Publ. CY - Ashford AN - OPUS4-17498 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Wille, Frank ED - Topping, B. H. V. ED - M. Papadrakakis, T1 - Simulation of the Crushing of Wood Filled Impact Limiters for Packages of Radioactive Material N2 - Mechanical and thermal safety assessment of packages for transport of radioactive material in Germany is carried out by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). Both experimental and computational (analytical, numerical) methods combined with material and/or component tests are the basis for the state of the art safety assessment concept at BAM. The required mechanical tests according to IAEA regulations include, among others, a 9-m-drop-test on an unyielding target. Impact limiting components, which are attached to the cask at both ends, limit forces applied on the cask body and lid system by absorbing a major part of the impact energy. In Germany, impact limiters of packages for transport of radioactive materials are typically of steel-wood-sandwich construction, combining a relatively stiff steel structure bolted to the cask body, outer steel plates and different types of wood. By crushing the wood-steel-sandwich-structure between an unyielding target and the cask, the kinetic energy of a 9-m-free-fall is absorbed. The main energy absorber is wood under a high level of deformation. Wood under large deformations exhibits destruction of the fibre matrix. By analysing compression of the impact limiter wood after the drop tests with prototype casks for radioactive material, underlying mechanisms of wood crushing and corresponding energy absorption under large deformations are identified. Softening occuring at compression of the wood is a function of the lateral strain restriction of wood. Against the background of continuum mechanics an analogous model for compression of the fibre bundle is presented. The model takes the lateral strain restriction as triaxiality of the stress state into account. Further modelling possibilities for wood with a continuum approach are described. Different material laws in the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA are analysed for possible application using the analogous model for the fibre bundle. Small scale compression tests with wooden specimens are modelled in order to evaluate the ability of different modelling techniques to simulate softening. Although modelling of the compression of wood under large deformations is possible, softening could not be simulated purposefully. A drop test of a cask with impact limiting devices similar to existing impact limiters is simulated with different material laws for wood. The behaviour of impact limiting devices could not be simulated universally including the influence of the lateral strain restriction; nevertheless loading of the cask by crushing of the impact limiter could be simulated purposefully. Verification with experimental results is essential. T2 - 9th International Conference on Computational Structures Technology CY - Athens, Greece DA - 2008-09-02 KW - Radioactive material KW - Transport KW - Impact limiter KW - Simulation KW - FEM PY - 2008 SN - 978-1-905088-22-5 IS - Paper 22 SP - 1 EP - 21 PB - Civil Comp Press CY - Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK AN - OPUS4-17891 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Weber, Mike A1 - Qiao, Linan A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Mechanical assessment within type B packages approval - the application of static and dynamic calculation approaches T2 - PATRAM 2010 - 16th International symposium on the packaging and transport of radioactive materials CY - London, UK DA - 2010-10-03 KW - Mechanische Bewertung KW - Radioaktives Material KW - Numerische Analyse PY - 2010 SP - 1 EP - 8(?) AN - OPUS4-23384 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Fracture Mechanical Analyses of a Welding Seam of a Thick-Walled Transport Package N2 - The safety demonstration of heavy weight type B transport packages used for storing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) or radioactive waste is ensured by a combination of physical testing and numerical calculations. While experiments are performed in accordance with the IAEA regulations for selected drop scenarios, Finite-Element-Method (FEM) simulations are used to predict the most damaging case and to investigate additional drop positions. BAM as competent authority in Germany has performed different investigations of a welding seam for a typical large transport package made of A508 forged steel, where the bottom plate is welded to the cylindrical shell. The package has a mass of approx. 120 t. Results of physical drop tests with a full-scale model and accompanying preliminary FEM simulations are presented to determine the decisive stresses in the welding seam. A drop test only represents one set of a package and test parameters. A further parameter analysis is considered to account for allowable variations of packaging properties (e.g. resulting from the manufacturing process) and, based on IAEA requirements, the temperature dependence of the material behaviour. The results of the stress analyses from the drop test and the simulation form the basis and provide the input parameters for a fracture mechanics analysis. In addition to the IAEA specifications, further standards are taken into account for an in-depth investigation, see R6, BS 7910 and API 579-1/ASME FFS1. All the above-mentioned standards require a manufacturer-specific defect analysis with respect to size and position. Both result from the welding process and the following heat treatment regime. The maximum defect sizes are ensured with non-destructive test methods (such as ultrasonic or particle methods) as integral part of the manufacturing process of the welding seam. Another important parameter in the welding process is the residual stress (secondary stress). The combination of the primary and secondary stress determines the total stress in the welding seam. The most damaging case of the welding seam is determined and evaluated with help of the above-mentioned standards and taking into account the IAEA requirements with respect to defect sizes, material properties, primary and residual stress, yield strength etc. T2 - PATRAM 22 - The International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials CY - Juan-Les-Pins, Antibes, France DA - 11.06.2023 KW - Transport Package KW - Welding KW - Fracture Mechanics PY - 2023 SP - 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-57696 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Feldkamp, Martin A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Transport of HLW canisters on sea vessels N2 - Germany had been transporting spent fuel to the reprocessing plant in Sellafield and La Hague for decades until around 2005. Resulting from the obligation to take back the vitrified high-level waste from reprocessing six CASTOR® HAW28M filled with 168 canisters with radioactive waste in vitrified form were transported from Sellafield to the interim storage facility Biblis in 2020. Rail wagons were used for the transport to the port in Barrow-in-Furness, where they were loaded into a dedicated seagoing vessel, certified as INF Class 3 according to the INF Code. This was the first time that vitrified high level waste with considerable heat load was transported under a German design approval certificate. BAM was involved in the authority assessment of the conditions for the sea transport. For the first transport BAM required among others, assessment of temperature distribution during transport, logging of temperatures of cargo bays and graphical imaging of temperatures of the bay with the cask in order to ensure compliance with temperature specifications, e.g. maximal neutron absorber and gasket temperatures. Special interest was taken in the identification of possible events exceeding the specified temperatures considering the different philosophies of IMDG code and its supplement INF code regarding temperature control of hatches. Results show compliance with assumed conditions. T2 - RAMTrans 2024 CY - London, United Kingdom DA - 14.05.2024 KW - Transport KW - Spent nuclear fuel KW - Ship KW - Sea KW - High level waste PY - 2024 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-60092 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Gröke, Carsten A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - BAM-GGR 016 - Auf dem aktuelle Stand N2 - Die BAM-GGR 016 zur Anerkennung und Überwachung von Managementsystemen für nicht zulassungspflichtige Verssandstücke für radioaktive Stoffe wurde kürzliche erstmals revidiert. KW - BAM-GGR 016 KW - Überwachung KW - Anerkennung KW - Radioaktive Stoffe PY - 2024 SN - 0944-6117 IS - 5 SP - 11 EP - 13 PB - Verlag Heinrich Vogel CY - München AN - OPUS4-59998 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Gradt, Thomas A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Friction coefficients for wood-wood and wood-steel interfaces in impact limiters for transport casks N2 - Wood is widely used in impact limiters of transport casks for radioactive material. Encapsulated by an outer and inner steel structure, spruce wood is often applied in layers of alternating direction. The friction at the interfaces between these layers is of crucial importance for the impact and energy absorption e.g., at an accidental impact of a cask against a hard target. In order to get detailed information for corresponding numerical calculations, in this study the friction coefficient for the combinations wood-wood and wood-steel was measured in the temperature range between -40°C and 90°C according to the relevant stress conditions for such casks. Results show decreasing friction with increasing temperature, ranging from 0.43 at -40°C to 0.22 for 90°C for wood-steel combinations and from 0.3 at -40°C to 0.24 at 90°C to for a wood-wood combination. T2 - 20th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials CY - Juan-les-Pins, France DA - 11.06.2023 KW - Wood KW - Friction KW - Transport cask PY - 2023 SP - 1 EP - 11 AN - OPUS4-57334 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - KI-Einsatz im gefahrgutrechtlichen Kontext N2 - Der Vortrag behandelt den Einsatz von Künstlicher Intelligenz im gefahrgutrechtlichen Kontext und beleuchtet deren Potenzial zur Effizienzsteigerung in ressourcenlimitierten Umgebungen. Anwendungsfelder an der BAM umfassen die Datenanalyse zur Verpackungssicherheit, die Automatisierung von Zulassungs- und Genehmigungsprozessen, die Unterstützung bei der Mitarbeit an Normen und Regelwerken sowie die Bearbeitung komplexer Forschungsfragen. Herausgestellt wird die wachsende Datenmenge und Komplexität in der Gremienarbeit (z. B. UN-Regelwerke), die manuelle Auswertung ineffizient macht. KI-gestützte Methoden wie LLM, RAG und Knowledge Graphs sollen digitale Qualitätsinfrastrukturen unterstützen, die Dokumenten- und Datenanalyse beschleunigen, ohne die menschliche Verantwortung für Sicherheitsbewertungen zu ersetzen. Zentrale Herausforderungen sind die Black-Box-Natur von KI, mögliche Halluzinationen, sowie die Sicherstellung von Reliabilität und Compliance. Ein innovativer Ansatz wird für die wiederkehrende Prüfung von Gasdruckspeichern vorgestellt: Durch die Kombination zerstörungsfreier Prüfungen mit ML-gestützter Datenanalyse können Sicherheitsreserven ausgewiesen und Kosten deutlich reduziert werden. T2 - 20. Gefahrgut-Technik-Tage CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 13.11.2025 KW - Artificial Intelligence KW - RAG KW - LLM PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64864 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Droste, Bernhard A1 - Schubert, Sven A1 - Probst, Ulrich A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Verification of activity release compliance with regulatory limits within spent fuel transport cask assessment N2 - Admissible limits for activity release from type B(U) packages for spent fuel transport specified in the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations (10-6 A2 h-1 for normal conditions of transport and A2 per week for accidental conditions of transport) have to be kept by an appropriate function of the cask body and its sealing system. Direct measurements of activity release from the transport casks are not feasible. Therefore, the most common method for the specification of leak tightness is to relate the admissible limits of activity release to equivalent standardised leakage rates. Applicable procedure and calculation methods are summarised in the International Standard ISO 12807 and the US standard ANSI N14·5. BAM as the German competent authority for mechanical, thermal and containment assessment of packages liable for approval verifies the activity release compliance with the regulatory limits. Two fundamental aspects in the assessment are the specification of conservative design leakage rates for normal and accidental conditions of transport and the determination of release fractions of radioactive gases, volatiles and particles from spent fuel rods. Design leakage rates identify the efficiency limits of the sealing system under normal and accidental transport conditions and are deduced from tests with real casks, cask models or components. The releasable radioactive content is primarily determined by the fraction of rods developing cladding breaches and the release fractions of radionuclides due to cladding breaches. The influence of higher burn-ups on the failure probability of the rods and on the release fractions are important questions. This paper gives an overview about methodology of activity release calculation and correlated boundary conditions for assessment. KW - Containment compliance KW - Seals KW - Regulations KW - Activity release PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1179/1746510913Y.0000000012 SN - 1746-5095 SN - 1746-5109 SN - 0957-476X VL - 23 IS - 3-4 SP - 149 EP - 152 PB - Ramtrans Publ. CY - Ashford AN - OPUS4-29244 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Günther, U. A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Experiences by German authority with safety case approach for welding seams as part of SNF transport package containments N2 - Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is the responsible authority for the assessment of mechanical and thermal safety as well as quality issues within the licensing procedure for transport casks for radioactive materials. The assessment includes a brittle fracture analysis of all relevant cask components. For cask bodies where a steel bottom is welded to a steel shell, specimens for testing of sufficient fracture resistance can normally not be extracted directly from the welding seam area of the cask. Therefore, a methodology has to be developed to ensure compliance with the safety Analysis considerations and the approved design specification. This paper describes such a methodology including brittle fracture analysis and de-termination of required material properties as well as aspects of quality assurance during manufacturing. T2 - RAMTRANSPORT 2012 - 9th International Conference on the Radioactive Materials Transport and Storage CY - London, UK DA - 22.05.2012 PY - 2012 IS - Session 4.2 RAM 18 SP - 1 EP - 6 AN - OPUS4-26344 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Sterthaus, Jens A1 - Schubert, Sven A1 - Eisenacher, Germar A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Material characterization and modeling within safety analysis of packages for transport of radioactive material N2 - In mechanical design safety assessment ofpackages for the transport of radioactive material the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations [1,2] require the use of one of four methods of demonstration of compliance with regulations: tests with prototypes, reference to previous satisfactory demonstrations, tests with scaled models as well as calculation or reasoned argument. In all cases characterization of material behavior is necessary. The need for material characterization can be split into three groups: characterization for material modeling in the design and verification process, determination of assessment criteria and inspections during manufacturing. The paper deals primarily with material characterization for the material modeling in the design phase and authorities approval process. Main package components are discussed: cask body and lids, screws, trunnions, impact limiter and basket(structure holding the content in specified position). Depending on the material used for these components this paper Shows exemplary a possible set of material investigations in order to allow modeling in design and assessment during the approval process. T2 - ASME 2012 Pressure vessels & piping division conference CY - Toronto, Ontario, Canada DA - 15.07.2012 PY - 2012 SP - PVP2012-78297, 1-6 PB - American Society of Mechanical Engineers CY - New York AN - OPUS4-26271 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - BAM-Testzentrum Wasserstoffsicherheit - Reallabore und Materialprüfung N2 - Der Vortrag gibt einen kompakten Überblick über das BAM-Testzentrum Wasserstoffsicherheit und seine Rolle bei der Forschung, Prüfung und Entwicklung sicherheitsrelevanter Technologien entlang der gesamten Wasserstoff-Wertschöpfungskette. Das Kompetenzzentrum H2Safety@BAM vereint wissenschaftliche Expertise, einmalige Infrastruktur und praxisnahe Reallabore, um Vertrauen in Wasserstoff als zukünftigen Energieträger zu schaffen. Im Mittelpunkt steht das Testgelände für Technische Sicherheit, das mit 12 km² zu den umfassendsten europäischen Einrichtungen für Sicherheitstests im Realmaßstab zählt. Dazu gehören eine Wasserstofftankstelle, Wasserstoffnetze im Reallabormaßstab, Prüfstände für Kryotechnik, Brand- und Explosionsversuche sowie eine im Bau befindliche Anlage zur Druckbehälterprüfung. Die Infrastruktur ermöglicht Freistrahlversuche, Jetflame-Tests sowie Untersuchungen für 1000-bar-Systeme. Im Reallabor Wasserstoffnetze werden Materialien, Gasqualitäten, dynamische Strömungsszenarien und Komponenten unter realistischen und kritischen Bedingungen untersucht, um die sichere Integration von Wasserstoff in bestehende und neue Pipelineinfrastrukturen zu ermöglichen. Parallel dazu schafft das Reallabor Wasserstofftankstelle die Grundlage für neue digitale Methoden der Qualitätsinfrastruktur von Sensornetzwerken über Echtzeit-Datenerfassung bis zur Anlagenüberwachung. Ein Beispiel ist die Optimierung von Betankungsprozessen mittels Digital Twin, die eindrucksvoll demonstriert, wie die Sicherheit bei Schnellbetankungen aufgezeigt werden kann. Mit Blick auf die Zukunft adressiert die BAM zudem die Sektorenkopplung. Datengetriebene Ansätze, KI und digitale Zwillinge sollen den sicheren und effizienten Betrieb von Elektrolyse, Energiespeichern und Wasserstoffanwendungen vernetzt unterstützen. Insgesamt zeigt die Präsentation, dass die BAM eine zentrale Institution für die sichere Transformation hin zu einer Wasserstoffwirtschaft ist - mit exzellenter Infrastruktur, praxisnahen Reallaboren und tiefgreifender Forschungskompetenz. T2 - Wasserstofftour durch die Regionen 2026 CY - Cottbus, Germany DA - 11.02.2026 KW - Reallabor KW - QI-Digital KW - Materialprüfung KW - Elektrolyse KW - Wertschöpfungskette KW - Testgelände PY - 2026 AN - OPUS4-65537 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schönfelder, Thorsten A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank ED - Schönfelder, Thorsten T1 - Design assessment of a dual purpose cask for damaged spent nuclear fuel N2 - German package design approvals were granted recently for dual purpose casks (DPC) intended for loading with encapsulated damaged spent nuclear fuel (DSNF). Comprehensive assessment procedures were carried out by the authority BAM with respect to the mechanical and thermal package design, the activity release of radioactive material and quality assurance aspects for manufacturing and operation of each packaging. The objective of each procedure was to verify the Package Design Safety Report (PDSR) and the relevant guidelines fulfils the requirements of the IAEA regulations. Previous approvals of German SNF package designs consider mainly standard fuel assemblies with defined specifications and properties for transport and interim storage. Due to the nuclear power phase-out in Germany all kinds of SNF, e.g. damaged spent fuel rods shall be packed in DPC now. Therefore specific requirements shall be considered in accordance with international experiences including IAEA technical reports. The main requirement for DSNF is a tight encapsulation with specific defined properties under transport and storage conditions. Due to the interim storage period of currently up to 40 years the encapsulation with DSNF in the casks shall also be long term durable. Thus specific loading and drying procedures are necessary and had to be qualified during the approval process. BAM assessed these drying procedures and could confirm the long-term behaviour of the encapsulation and the suitability of the drying equipment. This special equipment was qualified in a “cold handling”. In addition, it was shown that the behaviour of the test equipment used in the qualification process was comparable with the original equipment, e.g. test fuel rods or test encapsulation. In the development of the drying process, experience was obtained in how to put the requirements of the IAEA regulations and related IAEA technical reports into practice. The paper gives an overview of approval assessment and testing experience made by BAM and point out the main resulting requirements on drying processes for these kinds of encapsulations with DSNF. T2 - Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Assessment KW - Dual purpose cask KW - Spent nuclear fuel PY - 2019 SP - Paper 1204, 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-48685 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Schönfelder, Thorsten A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Authority Experience during Design Approval Procedure for Packages Loaded with Special Encapsulations for Damaged Spent Nuclear Fuel N2 - The first German package design approval certificate for a dual purpose cask intended for loading with damaged spent nuclear fuel was issued recently. BAM as part of the competent authority system in Germany carried out a comprehensive assessment procedure with respect to the mechanical and thermal design, the release of radioactive material and the quality assurance aspects of manufacturing and operation. Packages for the transport and storage of radioactive material have been assessed by BAM for many years, thus the common assessment procedure is well-known and good practice. Up to now only SNF without defects or HLW with well-defined properties were designated for long-term Interim storage and transports afterwards. Due to Germany’s nuclear phase out all other kinds of spent nuclear fuel in particular damaged spent nuclear fuel shall be packed as well. Damaged spent nuclear fuel needs a tight closure with Special encapsulations and clearly defined properties in Germany. In addition, these encapsulations shall be long-term durable, because they are not accessible after loading in a packaging within periodical inspections. The main difference to Standard package components is that encapsulations with a permanent closure achieve their specified conditions not after manufacturing but only during operation, after loading and closing. To ensure compliance with the specific conditions, special measures for quality assurance are necessary during operation of each encapsulation, e.g. drying and sealing, which were assessed by BAM. The present paper gives an overview of the conducted assessment from BAM and point out the findings concerning to the special closure lid of the approved encapsulation, which is screwed and welded. A wide verification concept is necessary to show the specific tightness under transport conditions. Together with quality assurance measures during first operation steps these encapsulations with damaged spent nuclear fuel can be handled like standard fuel assemblies in approved package designs. T2 - International Conference on the Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 24.06.2019 KW - Transport package KW - Design approval KW - Spent nuclear fuel KW - Special encapsulation PY - 2019 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-48749 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Feldkamp, Martin A1 - Quercetti, Thomas A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Fire reference test for IAEA package thermal testing in a propane gas fire test facility N2 - Packages for the transport of radioactive material shall withstand severe accidents. Therefore, the IAEA Regulations define different test scenarios to cover severe hypothetical accident conditions. One of these tests defined in detail is the thermal test, mainly consisting of a 30 minute fully engulfing 800 °C pool fire or an equally severe fire test. The heat fluxes into the package are of significant importance and depend substantially on the fire characteristics and the surface temperature of the package. In order to investigate the heat fluxes over a wide range of surface temperatures during a propane gas fire test and to get information about local fire impact a fire reference package, representing the outer geometry of a specific type of transport cask for radioactive waste, was designed. A closed steel sheet cylinder with a wall thickness of 10 mm was chosen as fire reference package. The cylinder was filled with refractory insulation material and instrumented with thermocouples distributed all over the cylinder. The local steel sheet temperatures measured allow the determination of local as well as global heat fluxes as a function of time and surface temperature. With this fire reference package three open-air propane gas fire tests were performed at BAM’s open air fire test stand. The flame exposure time period was changed for the different fire tests. Furthermore, the wind conditions changed between and during the tests. Test stand parameters like wind shield location and propane gas volume flow were chosen constant for the three tests. The test results were used to determine the changes of heat flux into the fire reference package in relation to the package surface temperature. This data also allows the calculation of local characteristics of the propane gas fire as there are the flame temperature, the fire convection coefficient and the radiation exchange coefficient in a first approach. The recently conducted tests provide an initial picture of local fire characteristics of the propane gas fire test facility. The test shows that the propane gas fire covers the IAEA-fire over a wide range of surface temperatures with the chosen test stand parameters. T2 - 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Fire test KW - Propane gas KW - Calorimetric test KW - IAEA fire testing PY - 2019 SP - Paper 1141, 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-48840 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weber, Mike A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Zencker, Uwe T1 - Numerical approach to determine a package dependent bar length for the iaea pin drop test N2 - The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is assessing the mechanical and thermal safety performance of packages for the transport of radioactive materials. Drop testing and numerical calculations are usually part of the safety case concepts, where BAM is performing the regulatory tests at their own test facility site. Among other mechanical tests the 1 meter drop onto a steel puncture bar shall be considered for accident safe packages. According to the IAEA regulations “the bar shall be of solid mild steel of circular section, 15.0 ± 0.5 cm in diameter and 20 cm long, unless a longer bar would cause greater damage…”. Particularly with regard to the German transport- and storage cask designs, often made from ductile cast iron, an accurate determination of the puncture bar length to guarantee a load impact covering the worst case scenario can be imperative. If the fracture mechanical proof for the cask material shall be provided by a test, small deviations in the concentrated load applied can be decisive for the question if the cask fails or not. The most damaging puncture bar length can be estimated by iterative procedure in numerical simulations. On the one hand, a sufficient puncture bar length shall guarantee that shock absorbers or other attachments do not prevent or reduce the local load application to the package, on the other hand, a longer and thus less stiff bar causes a smaller maximum contact force. The contrary influence of increasing puncture bar length and increasing effective drop height shall be taken into account if a shock absorber is directly placed in the target area. The paper presents a numerical approach to identify the bar length that causes maximum damage to the package. Using the example of two typical package masses the sensitivity of contact forces and puncture bar deformations to the initial length are calculated and assessed with regard to the international IAEA package safety requirements. T2 - PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - IAEA KW - 1-m-punch-bar-drop-test KW - Numerical approach KW - Bar length KW - Finite element analysis PY - 2019 UR - https://www.inmm.org/INMM-Resources/Proceedings-Presentations/PATRAM-Proceedings.aspx SP - 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-49016 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Neumeyer, Tino A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Application of leakage rates measured on scaled cask or component models to the package containment safety assessment N2 - The containment systems of transport and storage casks for spent fuel and highlevelradioactive waste usually include bolted lids with metallic or elastomeric seals. The mechanical and thermal loadings associated with the routine, normal and accident conditions of transport can have a significant effect on the leak tightness of such containment system. Scaled cask models are often used for providing the required mechanical and thermal tests series.Leak tests have been conducted on those models. It is also common practice to use scaled component tests to investigate the influence of deformations or displacements of the lids and the seals on the standard leakage rate as well as to study the temperature and time depending alteration of the seals. In this paper questions of the transferability of scaled test results to the full size design of the containment system will be discussed. T2 - 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Leakage rate KW - Transport packages KW - Seals KW - Radioaktive PY - 2019 SP - Paper 1147, 1 AN - OPUS4-49053 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Quercetti, Thomas A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Design assessment by bam of a new package design for the transport of snf from a german research reactor N2 - For disposal of the German research reactor of the Technical University Munich FRM II a new transport and storage cask design was under approval assessment by the German authorities. The Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) assessed the mechanical and thermal package safety and performed drop tests. The activity release approaches and subjects of quality assurance and surveillance for manufacturing and operation of the package were assessed by BAM as well. The cask body is made of ductile cast iron and closed by two bolted lid systems with metal seals. The material of the lids is stainless steel. On each end of the cask a wood-filled impact limiter is installed to reduce impact loads to the cask under drop test conditions. In the cavity of the cask a basket for five spent fuel assemblies is arranged. For the safety case a combination of experimental testing and analytical/numerical calculations were applied. In total, four drop tests were carried out at the BAM large drop test facility. Two tests were carried out as a full IAEA drop test sequence consisting of a 9m drop test onto an unyielding target and a 1m puncture bar drop test. The other two drop test were performed as single 9m drop tests and completed by additional analyses for considering the effects of an IAEA drop test sequence. The main objectives of the drop tests were the investigation of the integrity of the package and its safety against release of radioactive material as well as the test of the fastening system of the impact limiters. Furthermore, the acceleration and strain signals measured during the tests were used for the verification of Finite-Element-Analysis (FEA) used for the safety analysis of the package design. The finite-element models incorporated in the package design safety report include the cask body, the lid system, the inventory and the impact limiters with the fastening system. In this context special attention was paid to the modeling of the encapsulated wood-filled impact limiters. Additional calculations using the verified numerical models were done by the applicant and assessed by BAM to investigate e.g. the brittle fracture of the cask body made of ductile cask iron within the package design approval procedure. This paper describes the package design assessment from the view of the competent authority BAM including the applied assessment strategy, the conducted drop tests and the additional calculations by using numerical and analytical methods. T2 - 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Numerical modelling KW - Drop test KW - Assessment method KW - Ductile cast iron KW - Package design KW - Experimental testing PY - 2019 SP - Paper 1176, 1 AN - OPUS4-49054 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Neumann, Martin A1 - Schilling, O. A1 - Kuschke, Christian A1 - Darnstädt, A. A1 - Schubert, Sven A1 - Günther, U. A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Requirements for management systems for manufacturing of transport packages: the new revision of BAM-GGR 011 guideline N2 - In accordance with IAEA SSR-6 para 306 a management system shall be established and implemented to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of the IAEA regulations. BAM has issued an update of the guideline: the BAM-GGR 011. The new revision describes necessary quality assurance measures for design, manufacture, testing, documentation, use, maintenance and inspection of packagings for package designs requiring competent authority approval for the transport of radioactive material. The measures can be categorised as system-related and design-related. They are independently approved and monitored by the German competent authority BAM and its authorised expert (BAM/T). The qualification of the organisation applying for the design approval certificate is reviewed in the context of the design approval procedure. The quality assurance measures for manufacture consist of three main steps. Pre-assessment of manufacturing documents such as quality plans, specifications etc., Manufacturing inspections according the pre-assessed documents and inspection before commissioning including documentation review. Periodic inspections during operation as well as relevant specifications for use and maintenance ensure that the properties specified in the approval certificate are preserved over the package life time. Special provisions for the return on experience regarding operational feedback for design, manufacture, use, maintenance and inspection are given. Special focus shall be given here to the rearranged and meanwhile established system of manufacturing inspections. This includes more transparent roles for a) the Producers authorised inspection 11282 representative, b) the independent inspection expert (S), acting on behalf of the manufacturer with acceptance of BAM, and c) BAM or its authorised expert (BAM/T). Additional attention shall be drawn to the management of deviations during manufacturing and provisions for maintenance and periodic inspections. T2 - 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Quality assurance KW - Transport KW - Manufacturing KW - Surveillance KW - Radioactive material PY - 2019 SP - Paper 1128, 1 AN - OPUS4-49059 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Apel, Andreas A1 - Kuschke, Christian A1 - Moutarde, M. A1 - Desnoyers, B. A1 - Kalinina, E. A1 - Ammerman, D. T1 - ISO-Standard and IAEA guidance material for package load attachment Points - Current approaches and developments N2 - For transport package design and operation according to the IAEA regulations, the package shall be securely stowed and its retention system shall be capable to withstand load conditions of routine transport. The supporting IAEA Advisory Material SSG-26 provides information how to do that. Up to now package designers in different countries use other load factors for the design of attachment points than those specified in the IAEA guidance material. In particular the acceleration values vary between different countries and lead to difficulties during the validation of foreign approval certificates. Therefore the IAEA started a discussion process to review the existing guidance text. An international working group was constituted in 2013. Representatives came from different stakeholders, e.g. transport operators, competent authorities and modal organizations. The discussions concluded especially on the transport conditions which has to be considered for stowage design, including on the one hand the relevance of the load factors used for strength and fatigue analysis and on the other hand the criteria which have to be considered for the attachment points. The proposed acceleration values will be compared to those measured during recent multi-modal testing by Sandia National Laboratories that measured the acceleration levels experienced by a spent fuel flask during heavy-haul truck, sea, and rail transport. The ISO standard 10276 is dealing with the load attachment systems of packages as well. This standard considers the trunnion design, manufacturing and operational aspects. The regular standard revision phase started in 2017. An expert group discussed new state-of-the-art technology, different analysis approaches for strength and fatigue analysis and proposed revised text for the ISO standard for international discussion. The finite-element analysis approach incl. appropriate acceptance criteria are described and referenced. The paper describes relevant tie-down aspects, gives background argumentation relevant to analysis approaches, and tries to support harmonized application of the revised IAEA guidance material and the future revised ISO standard. T2 - 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Load attachment KW - Stowage KW - Trunnion KW - Bolt design KW - Retention KW - Acceleration KW - Transport KW - Load cycles PY - 2019 SP - Paper 1130, 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-49095 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Debruyne, M. A1 - Eckert, B. A1 - Gauthier, F. A1 - Ben Ouaghrem, K. A1 - Le Bars, I. A1 - Jouve, A.-C. A1 - Cordier, N. T1 - Assessment of safety demonstrations relative to packages containing UF6 N2 - The safety demonstrations realized by applicants in the case of approval request for the package designs containing enriched UF6 have to take into account some specific technical issues. Concerning the shipment of enriched UF6, the package designs consist in general of a filled 30B cylinder surrounded by an overpack. The description of the content, considering the UF6 origin, i.e. natural or reprocessed, shall be clearly justified especially when the UF6 isotopic composition exceeds the limits specified in ASTM standards. Concerning the containment of the UF6, the applicant shall demonstrate in all conditions of transport the leak-tightness of the valve and plug of the cylinders filled with enriched UF6. In this regard, when mechanical justifications are based on numerical calculations, the absence of contact between these components of the cylinder and the internal surfaces of the overpack after the regulatory drop tests shall be shown to respect the IAEA regulations. Furthermore, the representativeness of the ballast used to simulate the behaviour of the UF6 loaded within the cylinder shall be justified if drop tests are performed. The representativeness of the ballast should also be justified for numerical calculations. In addition, the applicant shall demonstrate that the melting temperature of the valve and the plug, including the tinned joint, will not be exceeded during the regulatory fire test. Finally, specific provisions relative to the use of plugs and the maintenance of cylinders should be included in the safety analysis report. T2 - 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Valve KW - Fire test KW - Content simulation KW - UF6 KW - Intumescent material PY - 2019 SP - Paper 1208, 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-49094 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - ISO-Standart and IAEA guidance material for package load attachment points N2 - For transport package design and operation according to the IAEA regulations, the package shall be securely stowed and its retention system shall be capable to withstand load conditions of routine transport. The supporting IAEA Advisory Material SSG-26 provides information how to do that. Up to now package designers in different countries use other load factors for the design of attachment points than those specified in the IAEA guidance material. In particular the acceleration values vary between different countries and lead to difficulties during the validation of foreign approval certificates. Therefore the IAEA started a discussion process to review the existing guidance text. An international working group was constituted in 2013. Representatives came from different stakeholders, e.g. transport operators, competent authorities and modal organizations. The discussions concluded especially on the transport conditions which has to be considered for stowage design, including on the one hand the relevance of the load factors used for strength and fatigue analysis and on the other hand the criteria which have to be considered for the attachment points. The proposed acceleration values will be compared to those measured during recent multi-modal testing by Sandia National Laboratories that measured the acceleration levels experienced by a spent fuel flask during heavy-haul truck, sea, and rail transport. The ISO standard 10276 is dealing with the load attachment systems of packages as well. This standard considers the trunnion design, manufacturing and operational aspects. The regular standard revision phase started in 2017. An expert group discussed new state-of-the-art technology, different analysis approaches for strength and fatigue analysis and proposed revised text for the ISO standard for international discussion. The finite-element analysis approach incl. appropriate acceptance criteria are described and referenced. The paper describes relevant tie-down aspects, gives background argumentation relevant to analysis approaches, and tries to support harmonized application of the revised IAEA guidance material and the future revised ISO standard. T2 - 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 CY - New Orleans, LA, USA DA - 04.08.2019 KW - Load attachment KW - Stowage KW - Trunnion KW - Bolt design KW - Retention KW - Acceleration KW - Transport KW - Load cycles PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49096 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Sterthaus, Jens A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Vlassopoulos, Efstathios A1 - Papaioannou, Dimitrios T1 - Numerical Simulation of Spent Fuel Segments under Transport Loads N2 - Packages for the transport of spent nuclear fuel shall meet the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations to ensure safety under different transport conditions. The physical state of spent fuel and the fuel rod cladding as well as the geometric configuration of fuel assemblies are important inputs for the evaluation of package capabilities under these conditions. Generally, the mechanical behavior of high burn-up spent fuel assemblies under transport conditions shall be analyzed with regard to the assumptions which are used in the containment and criticality safety analysis. Considering the complexity of the interactions between the fuel rods as well as between the fuel assemblies, basket, and cask containment, the exact mechanical analysis of such phenomena is nearly impossible. The gaps in Information concerning the material properties of cladding and pellet behavior, especially for the high burn-up fuel, make the analysis more complicated additionally. As a result, enveloping analytical approaches are usually used by BAM within the safety assessment of packages approved for transport of spent nuclear fuel. To justify the safety margins of such approaches additional analyses are necessary. In this paper, numerical simulations of a spent fuel assembly Segment are presented. The segment modeled represents the part of a generalized BWR fuel assembly between two spacers. Dynamic and quasi-static finite element calculations are performed to simulate the spent fuel behavior under regulatory defined accident conditions of transport. Beam elements are used for the modeling of the fuel rods representing the compound consisting of claddings and fuel pellets. The dynamic load applied is gathered from an experimental drop test with a spent fuel cask performed at BAM. A hot cell bending test performed at JRC Karlsruhe is the basis for obtaining the material behavior of the fuel rods. The material properties are determined by simulating the test setup of JRC and optimizing the results to fit the experimental load deflection curve. The simulations of the fuel assembly segment are used to get a better understanding about the loads on fuel rods under accident conditions of transport. T2 - 17th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2019) CY - Knoxville, Tennessee, USA DA - 14.04.2019 KW - Spent Nuclear Fuel KW - Finite Element Simulation KW - Transport packages PY - 2019 SN - 978-1-51088-669-8 SP - 1 EP - 7 AN - OPUS4-52046 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -