TY - CONF A1 - Nehrig, Marko A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor T1 - Investigation of the internal impact during a 9 m drop test of an accident-safe waste package N2 - The safety assessment of packages for the transport of radioactive material follows the IAEA regulations and guidance. The specified regulatory tests cover severe accidents and demonstrate the package containment system integrity. Special attention must be drawn to the behaviour of the content which could move inside the package due to unpreventable gaps caused by the loading procedure and the structure of the content. A possible internal impact of the content which occurs during the drop tests onto the lid system is investigated. The IAEA regulations SSR-6 and the Guidance SSG-26, revised recently, consider input from Germany and France related to the significance of internal gaps. In the context of a waste package design assessment, a model was equipped with a representative content to conduct a drop test with an internal impact. The weight and kinetic impact of this content covered all possible real contents. The objective of the test was to maximize the load onto the lid system and to prove the mechanical integrity by complying with the required leak tightness. The test was conducted conservatively at a package temperature lower than -40 °C at the BAM Test Site Technical Safety. This paper gives an overview of efforts to address internal gaps and their consequences, and the BAM efforts with the implementation of this topic into IAEA regulations and guidance material. The paper then focuses on the conduction of a drop test and investigation of internal component impact. T2 - ASME 2021 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference (PVP2021) CY - Online meeting DA - 13.07.2021 KW - Internal gaps KW - Drop test KW - IAEA PY - 2021 SN - 978-0-7918-8535-2 DO - https://doi.org/10.1115/PVP2021-60996 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) CY - New York, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-54742 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Quercetti, Thomas A1 - Sterthaus, Jens A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor T1 - Experimental and numerical investigation of prestressed bolt connections under lateral displacements N2 - The containment system of transport packages for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste usually includes bolted lids with metal gaskets. The packages are assessed to specific transport conditions which are specified in the IAEA safety standards SSR-6 (IAEA 2018). These transport conditions, especially the so-called accident conditions of transport, imply high dynamic loading on the lids and the bolt connections of the package. The response of the lid systems on the mechanical accident conditions is generally investigated by experimental drop tests or numerically, e.g., by finite element analyses. The interpretation of the drop test results for the verification of the numerical models is often not obvious due to the complex superposition of different effects in the real tests. BAM has started a research project to get a better understanding about the behavior of prestressed bolt connections under loadings typical for these drop tests. In this context an experimental test set-up was developed to investigate the response of a single bolt connection under a prescribed lateral displacement of clamped parts. The bolt is instrumented by strain gauges to get the pretensional, the torsional and the bending stress in the bolt shank. Furthermore, the lateral movement and the tilt of the bolt head is measured during the test. A finite element model of the test set-up has been created in Abaqus FEA (Simulia 2021). The very detailed instrumentation of the test set-up shall give the opportunity to investigate and validate the numerical model. The aim of this paper is to give an overview about the proposed research project and to present first results. T2 - SMIRT 26 (26th conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology) CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 10.07.2022 KW - Bolt connections KW - Finite element anaylsis KW - Experimental testing KW - Transport package for radioactive materials PY - 2022 UR - https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/40614 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - IASMiRT AN - OPUS4-59378 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Neumeyer, Tino A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Investigations of Aged Metal Seals for Transport Package Safety Assessment N2 - Acceptable limits for activity release from transport casks for high-level radioactive material specified in the IAEA regulations must be kept by the integrity of cask body and the cask sealing system. 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. One of the fundamental aspects in assessment is the specification of conservative package design leakage rates. To ensure the required package tightness for both, storage, and transport of the cask before and after storage usually metal seals of the Helicoflex® Type are used. Due to the long-term use the seal behavior is influenced by temperature and time. The mechanical and thermal loadings associated with the routine, normal and accident conditions of transport specified in the regulations can have a significant effect on the leak tightness of the sealing system. Whereas the safety for application of new, non- aged Helicoflex® seals is verified sufficiently, there are still technical data gaps concerning the efficiency of aged Helicoflex® seals. BAM performed experiments to learn more about the sealing efficiency of aged Helicoflex® seals with Aluminum and Silver outer jackets. The seals were compressed in test-flanges and for artificial ageing the complete flange systems were stored in an oven for several month at a high temperature. During the compression and decompression tests after the aging, load-deformation characteristics of the seals, and leakage rates were measured. With these tests a load situation was simulated, which can occur in the regulatory drop test of the cask: Under high impact loads the bolted lid can lift a little for a short moment, allowing a little movement of the seal, so that the contact area can change before compressing again. The poster presentation will show details about test conditions and first results. T2 - Interdisciplinary research symposium on the safety of nuclear disposal practices safeND2023 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 13.09.2023 KW - Radioactive material KW - Sealing KW - Ageing KW - Leaktightnes PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58436 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Neumeyer, Tino A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Investigations of Aged Metal Seals for Transport Package Safety Assessment N2 - Acceptable limits for activity release from transport casks for high-level radioactive material specified in the IAEA regulations must be kept by the integrity of cask body and the cask sealing system. 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. The specification of conservative package design leakage rates is one of the most important aspects in assessment. Metal seals of the Helicoflex® Type are usually used to ensure the required package tightness for both, storage, and transport of the cask before and after storage. Due to the long-term use the seal behavior is influenced by temperature and time. The mechanical and thermal loadings associated with the routine, normal and accident conditions of transport specified in the regulations can have a significant effect on the leak tightness of the sealing system. Whereas the safety for application of new, non- aged Helicoflex® seals is verified sufficiently, there are still technical data gaps concerning the efficiency of aged Helicoflex® seals. BAM performed experiments to learn more about the sealing efficiency of aged Helicoflex® seals with Aluminum and Silver outer jackets. The seals were compressed in test-flanges and for artificial ageing the complete flange systems were stored in an oven for several month at a high temperature. After this ageing procedure the flanges were opened completely, the seals were moved a little to vary the contact area, and the flanges were compressed again. During the compression and decompression tests after the aging, load-deformation characteristics of the seals, and leakage rates were measured. With these tests a load situation was simulated, which can occur in the regulatory drop test of the cask: Under high impact loads the bolted lid can lift a little for a short moment, allowing a little movement of the seal, so that the contact area can change before compressing again. Details about test conditions and first results will be presented in the poster. T2 - RAMTrans 2024, 12th Internatiopnal Conference on the Transport , Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Materials CY - London, UK DA - 15.05.2024 KW - Seals KW - Ageing KW - Radioaktiv PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60112 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Droste, Bernhard T1 - Aspects of spent fuel behavior assessment for transport packages N2 - Transport packages for spent nuclear fuel have to be assessed with respect to specific transport conditions which are defined in the safety regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In general, gastight fuel rods constitute the first barrier of the containment system. The physical state of the spent fuel and the fuel rod cladding as well as the geometric configuration of the fuel assemblies are important inputs for the evaluation of the package safety under transport conditions. The objective of this paper is to discuss the methodologies accepted by BAM for the authority assessment of spent fuel behavior within the package design approval procedure of German package designs. In particular, cracks or failures in the fuel rod cladding can occur under regulatory transport conditions. These defects can cause the release of gas, volatiles, fuel particles or fragments into the package cavity and have to be considered properly in the safety analysis. Another issue is the transport of defective fuel rods. One concept is to use special canisters which can be handled like fuel assemblies. This concept requires additional assessment concerning drying, sealing and the mechanical and thermal design of such canisters. The package as a mechanical system is characterized by a complex set of interactions, e.g. between the fuel rods within the assembly as well as between the fuel assemblies, the basket, and the cask containment. This complexity together with the limited knowledge about the material properties and the variation of the fuel assemblies regarding cladding material, burn-up and the operation history makes an exact mechanical analysis of the fuel rods nearly impossible. The simplified approaches to consider conservatively spent fuel behavior currently accepted by BAM are presented here. T2 - International Conference on Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors - An Integrated Approach to the Back-End of the Fuel Cycle CY - Wien, Austria DA - 15.06.2015 KW - Transport packages KW - Spent fuel assessment PY - 2015 SP - 1 AN - OPUS4-38102 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Rolle, Annette A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Considerations on spent fuel behavior for transport after extended storage 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. In this paper, the mechanical behavior of high burn-up spent fuel assemblies (> approx. 50 GWd/tHM, value averaged over the fuel assembly) under transport conditions is analyzed with regard to the assumptions which are used in the Containment and criticality safety analysis. In view of 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. Additionally, 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. Considerations and knowledge gaps for the transport after extended interim storage are issues of growing interest. In this context, practical approaches are discussed based on the experience of BAM within the safety assessment of packages approved for transport of spent nuclear fuel. KW - Transport packages for radioactive material KW - Spent nuclear fuel PY - 2018 VL - 83 IS - 6 SP - 488 EP - 494 PB - Hanser AN - OPUS4-47359 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 casks for spent fuel and high radioactive 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 - ASME 2018 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference CY - Prag, Czech Republic DA - 15.08 2018 KW - Containment KW - Spent fuel KW - Leakage rate PY - 2018 VL - 7 SP - PVP2018-84089, 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-46533 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 the correct puncture bar length for the IAEA puncture bar drop test N2 - Among other mechanical tests the 1 meter drop onto a steel puncture bar shall be considered for accident safe packages for the transport of radioactive material. According with 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…”. The most damaging puncture bar length can be estimated by iterative processes in numerical simulations. On the one hand, a sufficient puncture bar length has to 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 - ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference 2018 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 15.07.2018 KW - Length of puncture bar KW - Mechanical assessment KW - Numerical simulation KW - Puncture bar test KW - Transport of radioactive materials PY - 2018 SP - PVP2018-84614, 1 EP - 7 AN - OPUS4-46538 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 mechanical and thermal loadings associated with the routine, normal and accident conditions of transport can have a significant effect on the leak tightness of the containment system of transport casks for spent fuel and high radioactive waste. The containment systems of such transport casks usually include bolted lids with metallic or elastomeric seals. 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 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 and open points of the transferability of scaled test results to the fullscale design of the containment system will be discussed. T2 - 11th International Conference on the Transport, Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Materials CY - London, UK DA - 15. Mai 2018 KW - Transport packages KW - Radioactve KW - Seals KW - Leakage rate PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-46734 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Schönfelder, Thorsten A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Ballheimer, Viktor A1 - Wille, Frank ED - Müller, Lars T1 - Assessment experience on packages loaded with damaged spent nuclear fuel for transport after storage N2 - In 2017 the first German package approval certificate was issued for a dual purpose cask (DPC) design with encapsulated damaged spent nuclear fuel. At the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) a comprehensive assessment procedure was carried out with respect to the mechanical and thermal design, the containment design and quality assurance for manufacturing and operation. Main objective of this procedure was to verify the Package Design Safety Report (PDSR) fulfils the requirements according to the IAEA regulations SSR-6. Until now only standard spent nuclear fuel assemblies were designated for interim storage and transports. Due to nuclear phase out in Germany all other kinds of SNF in particular damaged fuel has to be packed. Therefore specific requirements have to be considered in accordance with international experiences written in IAEA technical reports. In Germany damaged spent nuclear fuel (DSNF) needs a tight encapsulation with special encapsulations and clearly defined properties. Due to the limited amount of DSNF these encapsulations are designed for storage and transport in existing packages. From the assessment experience it has been seen, corresponding PDSR need an extensively expansion to cover the design of these encapsulations and their influences on the package. Then such well-defined encapsulations can be handled like standard fuel assemblies. The main difference to standard package components is, encapsulations with permanent closure achieve their specified condition not after manufacturing but only during operation after loading and closing. Thus specific handling instruction and test procedures are necessary especially for welding, where BAM is able to survey the quality of this first part of operation. T2 - 11th International Conference on the Transport, Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Materials CY - London, UK DA - 15.05.2018 KW - Assessment KW - Dual purpose cask KW - Spent nuclear fuel PY - 2018 SP - Paper 18524, 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-45258 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 - Nasyrow, R. A1 - Papaioannou, D. A1 - Rondinella, V. A1 - Vlassopoulos, E. A1 - Pautz, A. T1 - Finite element modeling of spent fuel rod segments under bending loads N2 - Transport packages for spent nuclear fuel have to be assessed with respect to specific transport conditions which are defined in the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The physical state of the spent fuel and the fuel rod cladding as well as the geometric configuration of the fuel assemblies are important Inputs for the evaluation of the package capabilities under These conditions. Cracks or failures in the fuel rod cladding can cause the release of gas, volatiles or fuel particles into the cavity. The amount of substances in the cavity has to be considered in the assessment of the activity release and criticality safety. The mechanical analysis of the compound system formed by the fuel rod cladding and the spent fuel pellets is very difficult due to the limited knowledge of the material properties and the insufficient understanding of the interaction between pellets and cladding and between adjacent pellets. The variation of fuel assembly properties regarding cladding material, burn-up and the history of usage makes reliable predictions of the fuel rod behavior even harder. For a better understanding about the behavior of spent fuel rods, JRC and BAM have started a joint research project. In this context, JRC has developed a test device which allows quasi-static 3-point-bending test on fuel rod segments in the hot cell. The loads are applied with respect to the boundary conditions of the activity release assessment. This paper deals with the numerical calculation of a single fuel rod segment under bending load. The aim is to identify the governing mechanical parameters by the variation of constitutive assumptions, contact conditions, inner constraints, etc. This knowledge helps for the interpretation of the experimental results. Furthermore, the improved understanding about the behavior of the cladding-pellets system will be beneficial for the assessment of spent fuel transport conditions. T2 - SMIRT24 - 24th Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology CY - Busan, Korea DA - 20.08.2017 KW - Finite element methods KW - Spent fuel assessment KW - Transport packages PY - 2017 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-45316 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -