TY - JOUR A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Wolff, Dietmar A1 - Droste, Bernhard A1 - Völzke, Holger A1 - Baden, M. T1 - German approach and feedback on experience of transportability of SNF packages after interim storage JF - Packaging, transport, storage & security of radioactive materials (RAMTRANS) N2 - In Germany, the concept of dry interim storage of spent fuel in dual purpose metal casks is implemented, currently for periods of up to 40 years. The casks being used have an approved package design in accordance with the international transport regulations. The license for dry storage is granted on the German Atomic Energy Act with respect to the recently revised 'Guidelines for dry interim storage of irradiated fuel assemblies and heat-generating radioactive waste in casks' by the German Waste management Commission. For transport on public routes between or after long term interim storage periods, it has to be ensured that the transport and storage casks fulfil the specifications of the transport approval or other sufficient properties, which satisfy the proofs for the compliance of the safety objectives at that time. In recent years, the validation period of transport approval certificates for manufactured, loaded and stored packages were discussed among authorities and applicants. A case dependent system of 3, 5 and 10 years was established. There are consequences for the safety cases in the Package Design Safety Report, including evaluation of long term behaviour of components and specific operating procedures of the package. The present research and knowledge concerning the long term behaviour of transport and storage cask components have to be consulted as well as experiences from interim cask storage operations. Challenges in the safety assessment are e.g. the behaviour of aged metal and elastomeric gaskets under IAEA test conditions to ensure that the results of drop tests can be transferred to the compliance of the safety objectives at the time of transport after the interim storage period. Assessment methods for the material compatibility, the behaviour of fuel assemblies and the aging behaviour of shielding parts are issues as well. This paper describes the state of the art technology in Germany, explains recent experience on transport preparation after interim storage and points out arising prospective challenges. KW - Radioactive material storage KW - Dry storage KW - Interim storage KW - Cask design KW - Radioactive material transport KW - Regulation KW - Operating procedures KW - Package KW - Safety KW - Storage KW - Transport KW - Lagerung KW - Spent fuel PY - 2014 DO - https://doi.org/10.1179/1746510914Y.0000000064 SN - 1746-5095 SN - 1746-5109 SN - 0957-476X VL - 25 IS - 2 SP - 55 EP - 59 PB - Ramtrans Publ. CY - Ashford AN - OPUS4-33834 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Völzke, Holger A1 - Wolff, Dietmar A1 - Probst, Ulrich A1 - Nagelschmidt, Sven A1 - Schulz, Sebastian T1 - Long term performance of metal seals for transport and storage casks JF - Packaging, transport, storage & security of radioactive materials (RAMTRANS) N2 - Dual purpose casks for the transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive materials require very high leak tightness of lid closure systems under accident conditions as well as in the long term to prevent activity release. For that purpose metal seals of specific types with an inner helical spring and outer metal liners are widely used and have shown their excellent performance if certain quality assurance requirements for fabrication and assembling are satisfied. Well defined surface roughness, clean and dry inert conditions are therefore essential. No seal failure in a loaded cask happened under these conditions until today. Nevertheless, the considered and licensed operation period is limited and all safety assessments have been performed and approved for this period of time which is 40 years in Germany so far. However, in the meantime longer storage periods might be necessary for the future and therefore additional material data will be required. BAM is involved in the qualification and evaluation procedures of those seals from the early beginning. Because long term tests are always time consuming BAM has early decided to perform additional tests with specific test seal configurations to gain a better understanding of the long term behaviour with regard to seal pressure force, leakage rate and useable resilience which is safety relevant mainly in case of accidental mechanical loads inside a storage facility or during a subsequent transport. Main test parameters are the material of the outer seal jacket (silver or aluminium) and the temperature. This paper presents the BAM test program including an innovative test mock-up and most recent test results. Based on these data extrapolation models to extended time periods are discussed, and also future plans to continue tests and to investigate seal behaviour for additional test parameters are explained. KW - Metal Seal KW - Spent Fuel KW - Storage KW - Ageing KW - Cask KW - Leak tightness PY - 2014 DO - https://doi.org/10.1179/1746510914Y.0000000057 SN - 1746-5095 SN - 1746-5109 SN - 0957-476X VL - 25 IS - 1 SP - 8 EP - 15 PB - Ramtrans Publ. CY - Ashford AN - OPUS4-32327 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -