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Transport casks for radioactive materials have to withstand the 9 m drop test, 1 m puncture drop test and dynamic crush test with regard to the mechanical requirements according to the IAEA regulations. The safety assessment of the package can be carried out on the basis of experimental investigations with prototypes or models of appropriate scale, calculations, by reference to previous satisfactory safety demonstrations of a sufficiently similar nature or a combination of these methods. Computational methods are increasingly used for the assessment of mechanical test scenarios. However, it must be guaranteed that the calculation methods provide reliable results. Important quality assurance measures at BAM are given concerning the preparation, run and evaluation of a numerical analysis with reference to the appropriate guidelines.
Hence, a successful application of the finite element method requires a suitable mesh. An analysis of the 1 m puncture drop test using successively refined finite element meshes was performed to find an acceptable mesh size and to study the mesh convergence using explicit dynamic finite element codes. The finite element model of the cask structure and the puncture bar is described. At the beginning a coarse mesh was created. Then this mesh was refined in two steps. In each step the size of the elements was bisected. The deformation of the mesh and the stresses were evaluated dependent on the mesh size. Finally, the results were extrapolated to an infinite fine mesh or the continuous body, respectively. The uncertainty of the numerical solution due to the discretization of the continuous problem is given. A safety factor is discussed to account for the uncertainty. The calculation results are compared with experimental data from a puncture drop test with a half-scale model of a cylindrical cask.
This paper supports the convergence studies of the Task Group on Computational Modeling for Explicit Dynamics reporting to the ASME BPV Code Working Group on Design Methodology.
In the approval procedure of transport packages for radioactive materials, the competent authority mechanical and thermal safety assessment is carried out in Germany by BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing.
The combination of experimental investigations and numerical calculations in conjunction with materials and components testing is the basis of the safety assessment concept of the BAM.
Among other mechanical test scenarios a 1 meter drop test onto a steel bar has to be considered for hypothetical accident conditions of Type B packages according to IAEA regulations.
Within the approval procedure for the new German package design of the HLW cask CASTOR® HAW 28M, designed by GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service Germany, a puncture drop test was performed with a half-scale model of the cask at -40°C.
For independent assessment and to control the safety analysis presented by applicant, BAM developed a complex finite element model for a dynamical ABAQUS/ExplicitTM analysis. This paper describes in detail the use of the finite element (FE) method for modeling the puncture drop test within an actual assessment strategy.
At first investigations of the behaviour of the steel bar are carried out. Different friction coefficients and the material law of the bar are analysed by using a 'rigid-body' approximation for the cask body.
In the next step a more detailed FE model with a more realistic material definition for the cask body is developed. Strain verification is possible by results of the strain gauges located at the relevant points of the cask model. The influence of the finite element meshing is described.
Finally, the verified FE half-scale model is expanded to full-scale dimension. Scaling effects are analysed. The model is used for safety assessment of the package to be approved.