TY - CONF A1 - Weber, Mike A1 - Völzke, Holger A1 - Zencker, Uwe A1 - Hauer, Katharina A1 - Herz, A. A1 - Kreienmeyer, M. T1 - Aufbau eines Aufprallfundamentes mit reproduzierbaren Eigenschaften für Baumusterprüfungen von Abfallbehältern für das Endlager Konrad N2 - Abgeleitet aus den in Teil 3 der „Systemanalyse Konrad“ [1] definierten Lastannahmen für den „untertägigen Anlagenbereich“ müssen Verpackungen, die der Abfallbehälterklasse I (ABK I) mit dem zusätzlichen Merkmal der störfallfesten (sf) Verpackung oder der ABK II zugeordnet werden, gemäß den „Endlagerungsbedingungen, Endlager Konrad“ [2], nach einem „…Fall aus 5 m Höhe auf eine unnachgiebige Unterlage…“ bestimmten Anforderungen genügen. Eine nähere Beschreibung der Prüfeinrichtung sowie die Definition detaillierter Anforderungen an das Aufprallfundament erfolgen in der „Produktkontrolle, Endlager Konrad“ [3]: „Die Prüfeinrichtung, bestehend aus einer Hebeeinrichtung und einem Fundament ist so zu gestalten, dass der Fall des Prüfmusters in jeder beliebigen Aufprallorientierung aus 5 m Höhe, gemessen von der Unterkante des Prüfmusters zum Fundament, möglich ist. Das Fundament ist aus Beton der Mindestgüte B 35 herzustellen und muss so beschaffen und verankert sein, dass keine Zerstörung in zahlreiche kleinere Bruchstücke erfolgt und keine horizontale Verschiebung des Fundamentes oder seiner Teile auftritt. Maße und Masse des Fundaments müssen so beschaffen sein, dass der Einfluss des Baugrundes unter dem Fundament auf den Aufprallwiderstand vernachlässigbar ist.“ Im Rahmen der Bauartprüfung für Behälter zur Endlagerung radioaktiver Abfälle mit zu vernachlässigender Wärmeentwicklung im Endlager Konrad wird die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) von der Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) als Sachverständige hinzugezogen und ist in der Regel auch mit der Durchführung der notwendigen Fallprüfungen auf dem Testgelände Technische Sicherheit der BAM (BAM TTS) einschließlich der Bereitstellung der benötigten Prüfeinrichtungen sowie des regelkonformen Aufprallfundamentes beauftragt. Der Prozess, beginnend von der Gewährleistung einer von allen Beteiligten als gültig bewerteten Fallprüfung bis hin zur abschließenden Bewertung und Interpretation der Versuchsergebnisse erfordert dabei u.a. eine sorgfältige Planung und Fertigung der für das Endlager Konrad repräsentativen Fundamentplatte und deren Ankopplung an einen Untergrund im Sinne der „Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material“ [4], [5] wie er zum Beispiel auf den beiden Fallversuchsanlagen des BAM Testgelände Technische Sicherheit (BAM TTS) zur Verfügung steht. Um diese Anforderungen zu erfüllen muss zum einen der Erhalt der Integrität der Fundamentplatte beim Fallversuch durch eine geeignete Auswahl und kraftflussgerechte Anordnung der Stabstahl-Bewehrung sowie deren Verankerung garantiert und damit eine unzulässige Energieaufnahme durch Risse sowie eine unzulässige „… Zerstörung (der Fundamentplatte) in zahlreiche kleinere Bruchstücke …“, wie in [3] gefordert, verhindert werden. Außerdem ist zu gewährleisten, dass der Beton die Anforderungen an die vorgeschriebene Mindestgüte bzw. -festigkeit zum Zeitpunkt der Fallprüfung erfüllt, die Betonfestigkeit jedoch zur Vermeidung unnötig verschärfter Prüfrandbedingungen eine zu definierende Obergrenze nicht überschreitet. Ausgehend von dem 2009 im Rahmen der KONTEC veröffentlichten Wissensstand [6] präsentiert die BAM im vorliegenden Beitrag die wesentlichen Ergebnisse der zwischenzeitlich bei der Planung und Durchführung von zahlreichen Fallprüfungen gewonnenen Erfahrungen bzgl. Spezifikation und Fertigung der für die Fallversuche notwendigen Fundamentplatten sowie deren Anbindung an den Untergrund. Neben den immer wieder notwendigen Anstrengungen zur Gewährleistung einer im Rahmen der Definition korrekten Betondruckfestigkeit am Tag der Fallprüfung wird die Anpassung der Bewehrungsführung an verschiedene Fallpositionen diskutiert. Zur Ergänzung des gültigen Regelwerks entsteht parallel zu diesem Dokument eine Fachnotiz, in der BGE und BAM die Vorgaben und Spezifikationen zur regelwerkskonformen Herstellung und Montage von Fundamentplatten für Fallprüfungen im Rahmen der Behälterbauartprüfungsverfahren für das Endlager Konrad zusammenfassen und veröffentlichen werden. Diese Fachnotiz soll detaillierte Vorgaben und Spezifikationen zur Planung, Beauftragung, Herstellung und abschließenden Prüfung eines solchen Fundamentes und dessen Anbindung an den Untergrund enthalten. Damit soll allen beteiligten Organisationen wie Antragstellern, Sachverständigen und BGE ein langfristig verlässlicher Leitfaden im Hinblick auf die Durchführung anforderungsgerechter Fallprüfungen unter definierten und reproduzierbaren Randbedingungen im Rahmen der Bauartprüfungsverfahren für das Endlager Konrad an die Hand gegeben werden. T2 - KONTEC 2021 CY - Dresden, Germany DA - 25.08.2021 KW - Endlager Konrad KW - Fallprüfung KW - Aufprallfundament PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53374 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weber, Mike T1 - Design of a Drop Test Target with Reproducible Properties for Konrad Prototype Testing N2 - Beginning in 1976 the former iron ore mine Konrad was geologically investigated concerning its suitability as a location for a German final repository for low and intermediate level waste. After a comprehensive licensing procedure it was approved and is now being prepared and equipped for the planned start of storage in 2027. At the end of the 1980s, the requirements for waste containers for storage in this repository were defined for the first time on the basis of an incident analysis of the on-site handling procedures, beginning with the unloading of the packages after the arrival at the site up to the final positioning in the underground storage galleries. A 5-meter drop onto the rock ground of the mine was identified as the covering case for high mechanical requirements (ABK II container class). In contrast to the 9-meter drop according to the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, the 5-meter drop is performed onto a hard but not essentially unyielding target. The container is typically not protected by an impact limiter. The requirements for a potential test facility are described in the regulations for the Konrad repository. The mechanical strength of the target is defined as a concrete strength equivalent to the identified properties of the rock ground of the mine. Since 1991 BAM has consistently used precast reinforced concrete slabs as target for drop tests in the framework of licensing procedures as well as in research projects. While the original design fulfilled the requirement for the integrity of the concrete slab in most cases, it failed when drop tests onto an edge of a container were performed. A redesigned concrete slab developed in a research project and suggested as a reference target in 2009 has been successfully used in Konrad licensing procedures since then. The paper gives a brief overview of the historical development and it describes BAM’s efforts and approaches to continuously guarantee a concrete slab of defined quality and to provide a test setup for valid drop tests from the applicants and the authorities view. T2 - ASME 2023 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference (PVP2023) CY - Atlanta, GA, USA DA - 16.07.2023 KW - Final repository Konrad KW - Drop test KW - Target PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58565 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weber, Mike T1 - Consequences of an imperfectly mounted reinforcement cage in a generical cylindrical concrete container during mechanical specimen tests N2 - By highest court decision in 2007 the issued license for the Konrad repository (a former iron ore mine) for low and intermediate level radioactive waste was finally confirmed. Since then, the site is improved, prepared and equipped for the currently planned start of waste package emplacement by 2029. The Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) is regularly contracted by the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE, Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal) as the responsible authority for waste product control, waste container design testing, and waste package acceptance. In this context BAM is mainly responsible for design testing of various container types including the evaluation quality assurance measures for container manufacturing. In the written Konrad disposal requirements [1] [2], all acceptance criteria for potential final disposal containers are defined. In addition to general requirements concerning container design, materials, dimensions and others, specific mechanical load scenarios the casks have to withstand are derived from an analysis of the on-site handling and emplacement procedures. Drop tests from different heights under consideration of the most damaging drop orientation and a stacking test are two examples for safety demonstrations that have to be performed during the container design testing procedure to qualify the respective container type. The containers, whether cubic or cylindrical containers, can be made from different materials like ductile cast iron, reinforced concrete or as welded construction from steel plates and profiles. In case of concrete containers the reinforcement has the function to absorb tensile forces the concrete is not able to withstand by its own. Because of manufacturing imperfections of cylindrical concrete waste containers manufactured already decades ago, the reinforcement cages are not always exactly, axisymmetrically positioned when they were poured. This inspired BAM to perform various ABAQUS finite-element (FE) simulations [3] by using the example of a simplified cylindrical container design with generic dimensions and pure elastic material properties. As outcome the stress conditions in the container during the drop test impact under different drop positions and during the stacking test were investigated and are explained and illustrated in this contribution. Different reinforcement cage positions were calculated and compared. On the basis of the calculated tensile and compressive stress distributions suggestions are derived on how a cylindrical concrete container with an imperfectly placed reinforcement cage has to be oriented for a drop or stacking test to ensure the most damaging test scenario. T2 - ASME 2024 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference CY - Bellevue, Washington, USA DA - 28.07.2024 KW - Container design testing procedure KW - Reinforced concrete containers KW - Drop test KW - Stacking test KW - Imperfectly mounted reinforcement cage KW - Finite-element-analysis PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-62560 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weber, Mike T1 - Coefficients of Friction in Dependence on Aging State of Elastomers – Experimental Identification and Numerical Simulation of the Experiment N2 - Elastomer seals are mounted as barrier seals in lid systems of containers designed for transport and disposal of negligible heat generating radioactive waste and as auxiliary seals in spent fuel storage and transportation casks (dual purpose casks (DPC)). When the behavior of mounted seals under normal and hypothetical accident conditions of disposal and transport is to be simulated, a comprehensive knowledge of their complex mechanical properties at every state of aging is necessary. In previous works, BAM’s efforts in experimental investigations on specimen artificially aged at different temperatures and times and the implementation of the found results in finite element material models were presented. Additionally, our approaches to reproduce the aging process itself and to extrapolate the results of artificially accelerated aging to longer times were presented. Numerical simulations have shown that the behavior of the seal during mounting and one-sided pressurizing and the resulting performance values such as leakage rate strongly depend on the coefficient of friction (COF) between flange and seal. The friction coefficient, in turn, depends on the aging state of the elastomer material as several publications suggest (see below). Dynamic COF between an exemplary ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) material and a stainless steel ball were determined by using a self-designed linear oscillation tribometer. Unaged and artificially aged EPDM specimen stored for 30 days and 100 days at a temperature of 150 °C were tested. A stainless steel ball (d=10 mm) is brought in contact with the specimen’s surface und loaded by normal forces of 2.5 N, 5 N, 10 N and 20 N. During a reciprocating movement of the EPDM sheet, the horizontal force/friction force is continuously measured, and the COF can be derived. It is well known that friction is a complex phenomenon especially in soft materials. It cannot be excluded that the measured friction force is influenced by additional force components, resulting from the ball’s grooving through the elastomer’s surface. This force depends on the penetration depth of the ball and on the resistance of the elastomer in its different states of aging. The latter results from microstructural changes i.e., chain scission and additional crosslinking that occur during aging which in turn influence the softening or hardening of the material. A finite element (FE) ABAQUS® model was developed to reproduce the measurement process. It should help to better understand the physical mechanisms and to quantify the percentage of measured forces resulting from real friction on the one hand and forces resulting from unintended side effects that could falsify the result on the other hand. The behavior of the elastomer in its different states of aging is reproduced by a FE material model already presented in previous works of BAM. T2 - ASME 2022 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference (PVP2022) CY - Las Vegas, NV, USA DA - 17.07.2022 KW - Radioactive Waste KW - Elastomers KW - Aging KW - Experiment KW - Seal Behavior KW - Numerical Simulation KW - Leakage Rate KW - Coefficient of Friction PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-57095 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weber, Mike T1 - A numerical approach to correlate compression stress relaxation and compression set of elastomer O-rings with tightness N2 - The excellent mechanical properties of elastomer seals at a wide range of temperatures as well as their high versatility and recovery potential under several load conditions make these materials well suitable for the application in containers designed for transport and disposal of negligible heat generating radioactive waste. While a seal exchange at defined intervals is typical in many conventional applications, it is impossible or at least hard to perform when principles of minimization of radiation exposure have to be considered which prohibit an avoidable cask handling. An extensive knowledge of the change of the elastomer properties during aging and the availability of reliable end-of-lifetime criteria to guarantee the safe enclosure of the radioactive material for the required time are mandatory. As BAM is involved in most of the national cask licensing procedures and in the evaluation of cask-related long-term safety issues, great efforts have already been made and are still ongoing to scientifically support this task. Among other representative types of elastomers, specimen made from ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) were tested before, during and after aging to capture the with respect to application most important of their complex mechanical properties. Exemplary results of these investigations were used to calibrate material models implemented in the commercial finite element software ABAQUS/Standard®. The finite element model already presented in previous works uses a sequential temperature displacement coupling. The calculated compression stress relaxation (CSR) and compression set (CS) values do satisfactorily match the experimental results. In many investigations performed at BAM both values (CSR and CS) were identified as key indicators of elastomer’s long-term performance. However, the possibility to correlate these equivalent indicators with performance values such as tightness and leakage rate, measurable in the mounted state, is an important goal of our future work. In the presented study the ABAQUS® feature of “pressure penetration” is introduced in the suggested finite element model for this purpose. It provides the possibility to simulate the penetration of a gas into a possible gap between flange and O-ring causing an opening of a leakage path. Three dimensional and axis-symmetric finite element models were generated to represent flat and grooved flanges of different dimensions. The sensitivity of the feature to several input parameters is investigated and the observed behavior of the O-ring is correlated with the results of performed leakage tests. T2 - ASME 2021 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference (PVP2021) CY - Online meeting DA - 13.07.2021 KW - Elastomer KW - Tightness KW - Leakage KW - Compression set KW - Compression stress relaxation PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-54423 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -