TY - CONF A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - KI-unterstützte Begutachtung der Behältersicherheit N2 - Die BAM führt sicherheitswissenschaftliche Begutachtungen von Gefahrgutbehältern durch, die mechanische, thermische, abschirmende und transportbezogene Analysen sowie Materialbewertungen und experimentelle Prüfungen umfassen. Diese Begutachtungen basieren auf umfassenden Sicherheitsberichten und Betriebsdokumentationen, die zahlreiche verknüpfte Dokumente und Daten enthalten. Änderungen an Komponenten oder regulatorischen Vorgaben können große Auswirkungen auf den Prüfumfang haben. Das Projekt sieht vor, die Datenanalyse und -bereitstellung mittels KI-Ansätzen zu verbessern. Es sollen Methoden zur automatischen Analyse und Verknüpfung komplexer Dokumentationen entwickelt werden. Ziel ist es, die Effizienz und Sicherheit der Datenanalyse und späteren Sicherheitsbewertung zu steigern, menschliche Fehler zu minimieren und die Qualität der Sicherheitsbewertungen zu verbessern. Die Qualität der Datenbereitstellung aus Zeichnungen, Tabellen, Texten und Berechnungen ist entscheidend für die Verarbeitung digitaler Formate der Behälterdokumentation. Ein neuro-symbolischer KI-Ansatz kombiniert neuronale Netze und symbolische KI, um die komplexen Inhalte zu analysieren und zu verknüpfen, was für die spätere Sicherheitsbewertung der Gefahrgutbehälter entscheidend ist. In vortrainierten Large Language Models (LLMs) fehlen für diesen Anwendungsfall spezifische fachliche Daten zur Behältersicherheit was zu fehlerhaften Ergebnissen führen kann. Für die Datenbereitstellung und Analyse im Zuge einer Sicherheitsbewertung gilt es dieses auszuschließen. Hierzu soll die RAG-Architektur (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) im Zusammenspiel mit LLMs angewendet werden. Dieser neue Ansatz der natürlichen Sprachverarbeitung und generativen KI soll die Stärken vortrainierter Sprachmodelle mit Fachwissen und Informationen aus Datenbanken und Dokumentensammlungen kombinieren. Die generierten Ergebnisse sollen dabei zusammen mit den verwendeten Quellen bereitgestellt werden, um eine fundierte und nachvollziehbare Basis für die Sicherheitsbewertung bilden. T2 - Informationsaustausch zur verkehrsrechtlichen Aufsicht bei der Beförderung radioaktiver Stoffe CY - Bonn, Germany DA - 04.02.2025 KW - KI KW - RAG KW - LLM PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62538 LA - deu 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 - JOUR A1 - Simbruner, Kai A1 - Billone, Michael C. A1 - Zencker, Uwe A1 - Liu, Yung Y. A1 - Völzke, Holger T1 - Brittle failure analysis and modeling of high-burnup PWR fuel cladding alloys N2 - The aim of this research is the development of methods for predicting mechanical behavior and identification of limiting conditions to prevent brittle failure of high-burnup (HBU) pressure water reactor (PWR) fuel cladding alloys. A finite element (FE) model of the ring compression test (RCT) was created to analyze the failure behavior of zirconium-based alloys with radial hydrides during the RCT. An elastic-plastic material model describes the zirconium alloy. The stress-strain curve needed for the elastic-plastic material model was derived by inverse finite element analyses. Cohesive zone modeling is used to reproduce sudden load drops during RCT loading. Based on the failure mechanism in non-irradiated ZIRLO® claddings, a micro-mechanical model was developed that distinguishes between brittle failure along hydrides and ductile failure of the zirconium matrix. Two different cohesive laws representing these types of failure are present in the same cohesive interface. The key differences between these constitutive laws are the cohesive strength, the stress at which damage initiates, and the cohesive energy, which is the damage energy dissipated by the cohesive zone. Statistically generated matrix-hydride distributions were mapped onto the cohesive elements and simulations with focus on the first load drop were performed. Computational results are in good agreement with the RCT results conducted on high-burnup M5® samples. It could be shown that crack initiation and propagation strongly depend on the specific configuration of hydrides and matrix material in the fracture area. KW - Cladding KW - Radial hydrides KW - Ring compression test KW - Cohesive zone model PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1515/kern-2024-0109 SN - 2195-8580 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Walter de Gruyter GmbH AN - OPUS4-62409 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nagel, Thomas A1 - Rühaak, Wolfram A1 - Amann, Florian A1 - Bracke, Guido A1 - Buske, Stefan A1 - Kowalski, Julia A1 - Reiche, Sönke A1 - Schäfer, Thorsten A1 - Scheytt, Traugott A1 - Stumpf, Thorsten A1 - Völzke, Holger A1 - Wellmann, Florian A1 - Kolditz, Olaf T1 - Deep geological disposal - Editorial to the topical collection N2 - The subsurface geological environment, historically a key source of fossil and mineral resources, has seen a significant broadening of its potential applications in recent years, with increasing emphasis on its use for energy production and storage. A critical factor in utilizing subsurface space is ensuring the sustainability of management practices, with particular attention to the potential environmental impacts that may result. The current Topical Collection on Deep Geological Disposal places greater emphasis on the geotechnical aspects of geological disposal, with a particular focus on the safe isolation of hazardous materials, including radioactive waste. The Topical Collection on Deep Geological Disposal covers both experimental (laboratory and in-situ) and theoretical studies of various geotechnical applications, such as geological disposal of radioactive or other materials, e.g. coal-based solid waste, carbon dioxide sequestration in fractured reservoirs, and brine solutions, but also aspects of uranium mining. The articles in the Topical Collections are arranged under the following headings: – Fundamental studies – Experimental studies – Numerical studies KW - Disposal KW - Radioactive Waste KW - Geology PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-624955 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-024-12075-2 SN - 1866-6299 VL - 84 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-62495 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nerger, Deborah T1 - Impact damage characterization at RC plates with planar tomography and FEM N2 - Prediction of dynamic effects of reinforced concrete structures under impact loading is a technical challenge. This is a consequence of the great variability of the physical properties resulting from the wide adaptability of reinforced concrete and a consequence of the wide range of impact loading. Experiments and numerical investigations are normally used on a small scale to address the problem. In this paper, impact tests on reinforced conrete plates with the lateral dimensions of 1.5 m x 1.5 m and a thickness of 30 cm are presented. In bending reinforcement, besides the velocity two properties are varied, the diameter and the spatial distribution of the rebars. Experiments are performed at the Otto-Mohr-Laboratory of the Institute of Concrete Structures of the Technische Universit¨at Dresden. Due to the accelerated fall of the impactor the velocity ranges between 20 and 70 m/s. In addition to the measured quantities such as bearing forces, accelerations are also measured at 4 different positions on and under the plate, as well as the deflection at several positions. The measured data are used for the analysis of the damage form and the numerical examinations with the program Ansys Autodyn and the material model after Drucker-Prager. Numerical investigations support the tests, with detailed analysis of individual effects. These numerical computations and the planar tomographic investigations were carried out at BAM in Berlin. With the help of planar tomographic evaluation, the damaged structure is made visible and compared with the numerical results. Influences of the bending reinforcement are explained on the basis of damage evaluation in the local area and on selected measured values. In addition to the test evaluation, the tomographic and numerical methods are presented. T2 - XI International Conference on Structural Dynamics (EURODYN 2020) CY - Online meeting DA - 23.11.2020 KW - Post-impact evaluation KW - Damage characterization KW - Planar tomography KW - Drucker-Prager KW - Ansys Autodyn PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51768 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gleim, Tobias A1 - Feldkamp, Martin A1 - Quercetti, Thomas A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Experimental and Numerical Analyses for the Evaluation of Heat Fluxes of a Fire Reference Test N2 - Packages for the transport of high-level radioactive material are designed to endure severe accidents. To obtain approval, these transport packages must adhere to the specification-based criteria of the IAEA SSR-6. To ensure compliance with these requirements, specific mechanical and thermal tests need to be appointed with respect to the package type. Typically, IAEA SSR-6 prescribes mechanical tests followed by a thermal fire test as part of a cumulative test sequence. To approve the fire test, BAM uses a reference package representing the original package in its outer geometry for characterizing the actual fire and its impact on the package. This serves a dual purpose: it allows the precise adjustment of experimental parameters for the package design to be approved, and it provides input parameters for thermomechanical simulations, cf. With the help of this methodology for characterizing boundary conditions of the package, temperature evolutions within the reference package can be studied in a Finite-Element Analyses (FEA). This helps to compare the experiments with the numerical simulations on the case of the reference package, but also serves at the same time for preliminary simulations with the package design to be approved. The thermal test consists of a 30-minute fully engulfing 800°C pool fire or an equally severe fire, e.g. a propane gas fire. The fire reference test is performed prior to the regulatory fire test with the package design to be approved. The fire reference package in the described case is a closed sheet 316L steel cylinder with a wall thickness of 10 mm, a length of 182 mm, and a diameter of 102 mm. The package was instrumented with thermocouples and filled with heat resistant insulating material. T2 - ASME PVP 2024 CY - Bellevue, WA, USA DA - 28.07.2024 KW - Reference Test KW - Experimental KW - Numerical KW - Heat Flux PY - 2024 SN - 978-0-7918-8851-3 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-60848 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 for the Evaluation of Hydrogen as an Energy Source for Thermal Testing of Transport Packages of Radioactive Material N2 - In this paper we present a new 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 will be capable of combusting hydrogen for a wide range of different burner geometries, mass flows and if necessary hydrogen blends. 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 calculations must be carried out in order to develop a viable concept for hydrogen fires. In the first step of the feasibility study, the temperature, structure, and radiation of various hydrogen flames are surveyed. In future works, the results will make it possible to design burner frames that are suitable for fire reference tests in order to make comparisons with pool and propane fires used in assessment procedures today. In parallel comparative numerical simulations are conducted to model the thermal behaviour of hydrogen flames using the software package Ansys®. On the one hand, the numerical simulations support the experiments by providing an overview of numerous parameters and the measuring range; on the other hand, they will help with the design of the burner frame in future work. This paper gives an overview in the design and capabilities of the test rig. Furthermore, the results of the parameter studies show that burner geometry and mass flow provide a significant design margin for the thermal shape of the hydrogen flames. In addition, the results of the initial numerical calculations will be used to determine the necessary sensors, the positions, and their operating range. Only the optimal interaction allows a controlled system that permits user-defined hydrogen fires. T2 - PVP2024, Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference CY - Bellevue, Washington USA DA - 29.07.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Fire KW - Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) KW - IAEA fire test KW - Burner PY - 2024 SN - 978-0-7918-8851-3 SP - 1 EP - 9 AN - OPUS4-60852 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Müller, Lars A1 - Scheidemann, Robert A1 - Neumeyer, Tino A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Tightness Verification Procedures of Welded Lids for Encapsulations for Damaged Spent Nuclear Fuel in the Design Approval Process of Dual-Purpose Cask (DPC) N2 - Damaged spent nuclear fuel (DSNF) can be loaded in Germany in dual-purpose casks (DPC) for transport and interim storage. Therefore, special encapsulations are needed to guarantee a safe handling and a reliable tight closure. These encapsulations must be durable and leak-tight for a possible long interim storage term and the transport thereafter. Because components inside the package containment like these special encapsulations are not accessible within periodical inspections of the DPC. Due to the general design of DPCs for standard fuel assemblies, specific requirements needed to be considered for the design of the special encapsulations for DSNF to ensure the loading in existing package designs. Especially the content of the encapsulations with damaged spent nuclear fuel must be avoided to enter in the inner space of the DPC, due to the possible higher amount of corrosive and radioactive material as well as greater quantities of water, which can be trapped in defect fuel rods. The main difference of the encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel is that they have no replaceable sealing as tightness barrier. They have a specific welded lid. Therefor the tightness needs to be shown in the design approval process for all transport conditions especially for accident conditions, where high internal impact loads can occur. As German competent authority, BAM is responsible for the safety assessment of the mechanical and thermal design, the release of radioactive material and the quality assurance aspects of manufacturing and operation. Concerning the mechanical package design BAM carried out a comprehensive safety assessment for the specific encapsulations during the package design approval process of the commonly used DPC. For the proof of tightness of the welded lid no representative standards are available. For minor loads the German KTA standards can verify the tightness of a weld seam but only for low stresses. For higher impact loads physical tests are required. These tests were performed with representative drop tests and highly sensitive leak tests. The present paper gives an overview of the applied assessments by BAM and points out the main findings of the mechanical design for the welded sealing. Both verification procedures are described, on one hand with German standards for lower loads and on the other hand with physical tests for higher impact loads. The drop tests based on complex numerical pre-calculations by the applicant which result in optimized dimensions and properties of the test specimens and representative drop heights for the drop tests. The horizontal drop orientation with a plane-parallel impact on the unyielding basement was most challenging and led to specific adaptations during preparation and conduction of the drop tests performed by BAM. With leak tests and the corresponding test evaluation, it could be finally approved that the specific welded sealing of an encapsulations for DSNF is tight for all transport conditions. T2 - ASME PVP 2024 CY - Bellevue, WA, USA DA - 28.07.2024 KW - Tightness verification KW - Weld seams KW - Drop tests KW - Encapsulations for damaged spent nuclear fuel KW - Helium leak tests PY - 2024 SN - 978-0-7918-8851-3 SP - 1 EP - 10 CY - New York AN - OPUS4-61351 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Komann, Steffen A1 - Wille, Frank A1 - Linnemann, Konrad A1 - Ramsay, Jeff A1 - Reiche, Ingo T1 - Transport of large nuclear power plant components – new SCO-III regulations and mechanical design assessment N2 - The decommissioning or refurbishment of nuclear facilities necessitates either the storage or disposal of large radioactive components such as steam generators, pressurizers, reactor pressure vessels and heads, and coolant pumps, to list the major contributors. These components or objects are large in size and mass, measuring up to approximately 6 meters in diameter, up to 20 meters in length, and weighing over 400 000 kg. In many situations, the components are transported off-site to a storage, disposal or recycling/treatment facility. Previously, many large objects had to be transported under special arrangement. The latest 2018 edition of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, No. SSR-6, incorporates regulations for the shipment of contaminated, but not activated large objects as a new category of surface contaminated object, SCO-III, based on the IAEA “performance package” concept. This paper provides background and practical guidance on these regulations. Additionally, first experiences with SCO-III in the approval process are presented. For SCO-III components a mechanical assessment regarding the tests specified in the transport regulations SSR-6 for demonstrating ability to withstand normal conditions of transport is required - a free drop of the package onto an unyielding target and a penetration test have to be investigated. Large components are unique objects; therefore, it is not possible to choose experimental testing as assessment method. The application of a complex numerical analysis for mechanical proof is necessary. The assessment of the loads takes place based on local stress distributions. The large nuclear components have typically been transported in an unpackaged manner, so that the external shell of the component provides the containment wall. The paper will represent the methods, which are used for the evaluation of the mechanical integrity of the object for transport approval. T2 - PVP2024, Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference CY - Bellevue, Washington USA DA - 29.07.2024 KW - Transport KW - Radioaktive Stoffe KW - Rückbau kerntechnischer Anlagen KW - Gefahrgut PY - 2024 SN - 978-0-7918-8851-3 SP - 1 EP - 4 AN - OPUS4-60829 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Weber, Mike A1 - Völzke, Holger A1 - Nieslony, Gregor 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 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 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 SN - 978-0-7918-8851-3 DO - https://doi.org/10.1115/PVP2024-123797 VL - 5 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - ASME CY - New York City, USA AN - OPUS4-62558 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -