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Verbundvorhaben KoBrA: Ausblick zur Umsetzung von Anforderungen in Technische Behälterkonzepte
(2018)
Als Ausblick auf noch ausstehende Arbeiten zum Verbundvorhaben "KoBrA" zur Erfassung nationaler und internationaler Anforderungen und Konzepte für Behälter zur Endlagerung wärmeentwickelnder radioaktiver Abfälle in den potentiellen Wirtsgesteinformationen Kristallin, Ton und Salz werden die grundlegenden Anforderungen und Schutzziele der Endlagerbehälter untersucht und der konzeptionelle Weg von Anforderungen hin zu Konzepten erläutert.
Im Vorhaben "KoBrA" sollen aus bestehenden Anforderungen für endlagerfähige Behälter und aus internationalen Erfahrungen ein aktueller Stand auf dem Gebiet der Behälterforschung für HLW/SF-Behälter ermittelt und generische Vorschläge für HLW/BE-Endlagerbehälterkonzepte in den drei potentiellen Wirtsgesteinen (Kristallin, Ton oder Salz) erarbeitet werden.
Im Vorhaben "KoBrA" sollen aus bestehenden Anforderungen für endlagerfähige Behälter und aus internationalen Erfahrungen ein aktueller Stand auf dem Gebiet der Behälterforschung für HLW/SF-Behälter ermittelt und generische Vorschläge für einen deutschen HLW/BE-Endlagerbehälter in den drei potentiellen Wirtsgesteinen (Kristallin, Ton oder Salz) erarbeitet werden. Im Arbeitspaket 1 wird dafür eine umfassende Literaturrecherche zu internationalen Behälterkonzepten durchgeführt, deren erste Ergebnisse hier präsentiert werden.
Verbundvorhaben "KoBrA"
(2018)
Im Verbundvorhaben "KoBrA" sollen systematisch Randbedingungen, Anforderungen und Konzepte für BE/HLW-Endlagerbehälter in den potentiellen Wirtsgesteinen Kristallin, Ton und Salz gesammelt, zusammengetragen und ausgewertet werden. Am Ende sollen generische Behälteranforderungen und -Konzepte für mögliche endlagerfähige Behälter in Deutschland erarbeitet werden. Hier wird ein Überblick über das gemeinsam mit unseren Partnern von der DBE TEC (jetzt BGE TEC) bearbeitete Gesamtvorhaben mit allen Arbeitspaketen gegeben.
For the realization of a sustainable energy economy, it is of great importance to develop CO2 -neutral methods producing multi-carbon organic chemicals used as feedstock in the chemical industry as well as carbon-neutral fuels. A promising method to alleviate the greenhouse effect and thereby forming value-added chemicals or syngas as an energy carrier, is through the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). In this work, a bioelectrotechnological approach is developed, in which the CO2RR reaction products (CO and H2) are directly fed to bacteria (acetogens), who use them as “reduction equivalents” to further metabolize CO2 to valuable carbon compounds. Therefore, a bio-electrochemical system consisting of a bioreactor coupled to a CO2 electrolysis cell will be established. Currently, scarce catalysts such as Ag and Au are used as for the CO2RR which may hamper the use of decentral CO2 conversion technology for cost reasons.
The technological viability of the bacteria-assisted electrolysis depends on the usage of efficient, biocompatible, and selective electrocatalysts prepared from inexpensive precursors. Porous transition metal and nitrogen co-doped carbons (M-N-Cs) have emerged as precious-metal free electrocatalysts for the direct electrochemical reduction of CO2 into CO and are excellent candidates for scale-up and deployment in technological applications. Furthermore, Co/Ni/Zn functioning as the catalytically active sites will be used, as they are expected to depict non-bactericidal properties in contrast to Cu and Ag catalysts. The non-bactericidal property could e.g., allow for application within the hybrid device (bio-electrochemical system), without the need to separate bacteria and cathode catalyst. The MNCs with the most promising electrocatalytic activity and selectivity will be evaluated in abiotic conditions in the hybrid bio-electrochemical reactor system.
Update on Work and Meetings in Germany about the Spent Fuel Behavior for Transport and Storage
(2018)
The presentation gives an update about the work on the spent fuel behavior for transport and storage in Germany. Recent developments and meetings are discussed. In this context the results of the hot cell tests on fuel rod segments performed at JRC in Karslruhe in collaboration with BAM are shown. Furthermore, a new research project about the investigations on potential brittle failure of cladding materials under long-term dry interim storage conditions, which is currently starting at BAM 3.4 is presented.
Im Zusammenhang mit den Untersuchungen zu den Möglichkeiten von gekühlten Transporten von Lithiumbatterien werden unterschiedliche Zerstörungsmethoden vorgestellt und diskutiert. Insbesondere wird dabei das neu entwickelte Nageltool und die vorläufigen Untersuchungen für den Einfluss von Ultratiefkühlung auf unbeschädigte Lithiumbatterien vorgestellt.
Heizöllagerbehälter aus Kunststoffen (z.B. Polyethylen) sind für einen sicheren Betrieb von 30 Jahren, dem Zeitraum der Produkthaftung, ausgelegt. Die Tankhersteller empfehlen zur Gewährleistung der Sicherheit nach Ablauf von 30 Jahren den Ersatz dieser Behälter. Kunststoffe unterliegen im Laufe ihrer Nutzungsdauer der Alterung durch die Veränderung ihrer Eigenschaften. Das Ausmaß der Alterung und die Art des Abbauvorganges hängen im Wesentlichen vom chemischen Abbau des Kunststoffes, der Wanddicke des Behälters und den Umgebungsbedingungen ab. Aufgrund der Komplexität der Alterungsvorgänge sind Aussagen zum Langzeitverhalten bzw. zur Lebensdauer der Heizöllagerbehälter ohne geeignete Langzeitprüfungen problematisch. Bisher liegen keine Untersuchungen zum Langzeitverhalten der Kunststoffe vor, insbesondere nach einer Nutzungsdauer über 20 Jahre. In der BDH-Broschüre: Effiziente Systeme und erneuerbare Energien wird darauf hingewiesen, dass ca. 45 % der Heizöllagerbehälter aus Kunststoffen in Deutschland 26 Jahre und älter sind. Viele dieser Tankanlagen sind zudem noch nie von einem Sachverständigen überprüft worden. Schätzungen gehen davon aus, dass mehr als 10.000.000 Tankanlagen aus Kunststoffen in Deutschland vor 1987 errichtet wurden.
Ziel der Untersuchungen ist, den Schädigungsgrad der Kunststoffe im Vergleich zu den unbelasteten Werkstoffen zu ermitteln. Da die BAM bis Ende der 80-iger Jahre für die Zulassung dieser Behälter zuständig war, sind die Daten über den eingesetzten Werkstoff für den Vergleich noch vorhanden. Der Bundesverband Lagerbehälter e.V. und das Institut für Wärme und Oeltechnik (IWO) befürworten diese Untersuchungen, um eine Überalterung der Tankanlagen zu vermeiden. Diese Überalterung könnte die zukünftige Gefahr für die Heizöltankanlage sein, nicht der Wettbewerb mit anderen Energieformen.
Heizöllagerbehälter aus Polyethylenformstoffen werden seit Beginn der 70-iger Jahre in Deutschland hergestellt. Die Hersteller empfehlen zur Gewährleistung der Sicherheit nach Ablauf von 30 Jahren den Ersatz dieser Behälter. Polyethylenformstoffe unterliegen im Laufe ihrer Nutzungsdauer der Alterung durch die Veränderung ihrer Eigenschaften. Das Ausmaß der Alterung und die Art des Abbauvorganges hängen im Wesentlichen vom chemischen Abbau des Polyethylens, der Wanddicke des Behälters und den Umgebungsbedingungen ab. Bisher lagen keine Untersuchungen zum Langzeitverhalten der Polyethylenformstoffe vor, insbesondere nach einer Nutzungsdauer der Tanks über 30 Jahre. Ziel der Untersu-chungen war, den tatsächlichen Schädigungsgrad der Polyethylenformstoffe im Vergleich zu den unbelasteten Formstoffen zu ermitteln. Da die BAM bis Mitte der 90-iger Jahre für die Prüfungen und Gutachten zur Zulassung dieser Behälter zuständig war, sind die Werkstoffdaten noch vorhanden.
Als Untersuchungsmethoden wurden die Bestimmung der Schmelze-Masse-Fließrate (MFR) und die Fourier-Transformation-IR-Spektroskopie (FTIR) von Tankausschnitten aus dem Bereich des Bodens, des Mantels und des Daches von 10 ausgesonderten Behältern aus den Polyethylenformstoffen A und B herangezogen. Die Messungen der MFR der Tankaus-schnitte aus diesen Bereichen zeigten Unterschiede in den Werten in Abhängigkeit vom Ge-wicht (5 kg oder 21,6 kg), welches eingesetzt wurde. Eine Abnahme der MFR-Werte wurde für die größere Anzahl der Tankwandungsausschnitte aus dem Formstoff B nach einer Lebensdauer der Tanks > 30 Jahre gemessen. Dieser Formstoff wurde hauptsächlich durch innere Alterung infolge Vernetzungen, Verzweigungen und Weichmacherverlust und weniger durch oxidativen Abbau geschädigt. Die FTIR-Messungen der Proben aus dem Bereich des Bodens und des Mantels der Tanks zeigten, dass die Intensität der asymmetrischen/symmetrischen CH2 -Streckschwingungen im Bereich: 2800 - 2900 cm-1 und der CH2 -Biegeverformungsschwingung bei 1400 cm-1 aufgrund von Kettenspaltungen zugenommen haben. Die Intensität der Carbonylstreckschwingung C=O bei 1740 cm-1 ist niedrig. Sie ist ein Maß für die Oxidation des Polymerwerkstoffes.
Transport von defekten Lithiumbatterien - die BAM setzt die Vorschriften des internationalen Gefahrguttransportrechts für defekte Lithiumbatterien um. Um die Kompetenz hierfür sicherzustellen, bedarf es eigener Forschungstätigkeit. Auch im zuständigen UN Gremium werden Untersuchungen durchgeführt, an denen die BAM beteiligt ist.
Germany had been transporting spent fuel to the reprocessing plant in Sellafield and La Hague for decades until around 2005. Resulting from the obligation to take back the vitrified high-level waste from reprocessing six CASTOR® HAW28M filled with 168 canisters with radioactive waste in vitrified form were transported from Sellafield to the interim storage facility Biblis in 2020. Rail wagons were used for the transport to the port in Barrow-in-Furness, where they were loaded into a dedicated seagoing vessel, certified as INF Class 3 according to the INF Code. This was the first time that vitrified high level waste with considerable heat load was transported under a German design approval certificate.
BAM was involved in the authority assessment of the conditions for the sea transport. For the first transport BAM required among others, assessment of temperature distribution during transport, logging of temperatures of cargo bays and graphical imaging of temperatures of the bay with the cask in order to ensure compliance with temperature specifications, e.g. maximal neutron absorber and gasket temperatures. Special interest was taken in the identification of possible events exceeding the specified temperatures considering the different philosophies of IMDG code and its supplement INF code regarding temperature control of hatches. Results show compliance with assumed conditions.
Hydrogen pressure vessels are among the most essential components for reliable hydrogen technology. Under current regulations, a mostly conservative strategy is employed, restricting the usage time of hydrogen pressure vessels without providing information on the real remaining lifetime. During the service life, pressure vessels are inspected periodically. However, no established method that can provide continuous monitoring or information on the remaining safe service life of the vessel. In this paper, we propose a sensor network for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of hydrogen pressure vessels where data from all sensors are collected and centrally evaluated. Specifically, we integrate three different SHM sensing technologies namely Guided Wave ultrasonics (GW), Acoustic Emission testing (AT), and distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (FOS). This integrated approach offers significantly more information and could therefore enable a transition from costly and time-consuming periodic inspections to more efficient and modern predictive maintenance strategies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based evaluation. This does not only have a positive effect on the operational costs but enhances safety through early identification of critical conditions in the overall system in real-time. We demonstrate an experimental set-up of a lifetime test where a Type IV Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) is investigated under cyclic loading instrumented with AT, FOS, and GW methods. We acquired data from the sensor network until the pressure vessel failed due to material degradation. The data collected using the three different SHM sensor technologies is planned to be evaluated individually, using data fusion, and AI. In the future, we aim to integrate the measurement setup into a hydrogen refueling station with the data stream implemented into a digital signal processing chain and a digital twin.
The BAMline at the synchrotron X-ray source BESSY II (Berlin, Germany) is supporting researchers especially in materials science. As a non-destructive characterization method, synchrotron X-ray imaging, especially tomography with hard X-Rays, plays an important role in structural 3D characterization. The imaging capabilities allow for in-situ and operando experiments. In this presentation the equipment, data handling pipeline as well as various examples from material science are presented.
Three-dimensional finite element analysis of O-ring metal seals considering manufacture tolerances
(2019)
Metal seals are widely used in various industrial branches with severe working conditions (e.g. high pressure, high temperature, corrosion, or radioactive radiation). For example, O-ring metal seals are applied in the closure lid system of transport and storage casks for radioactive materials to guarantee an approved specified leak-tightness and the safe enclosure of the radioactive inventory. Within safety assessments of those casks under normal or accident conditions during transport and long-term interim storage for several decades, numerical simulations of the thermo-mechanical behavior of metal seals by using finite element (FE) analyses are suitable and effective.
In general, finite element codes provide the possibility to construct a complex three-dimensional (3D) modelling of metal seals with solid elements, cf., where all components of the metal seals are modeled in detail. This modelling is complex but allows the consideration of underlying physical effects such as elastic-plastic deformation, thermal expansion, creep/relaxation, friction and possible local damage. Therefore, this approach permits the investigation and understanding of the complex behavior of metal seals in detail which can hardly be measured for all seal components.
In a prior work, the complex 3D modelling approach was applied to investigate the influence of each seal component on the global seal force by considering varying material properties and different seal diameters. In the present contribution, the influence of manufacturing tolerances is discussed. At first, the results of prior work are summarized. After that, the manufacturing tolerances of the studied O-ring metal seal types are described and the corresponding FE model with all individual components is introduced. Finally, the influence of varying manufacturing tolerances of each seal component on the global seal force is analyzed and discussed.
A preliminary analysis has been presented on the advantages for Mexico to migrate the cargo from trucking to railways. While the approach is highly unrealistic, it describes interesting figures that should animate the interest of Mexico to develop its railway infrastructure. Adverse situations due to the topographic characteristics of the mostly populated area of Mexico. The data presented in this paper suggest that the building of railway infrastructure is economically feasible.
The presentation starts with the first agreement of making a national attempt for the introduction of a pV-limit for hydrogen transport. It explains aspects of the technical development, provides an impression of catastrophic incidents, and explains the difference between risk control and consequence limitation. Then the process of determining consequences and the result from the discussion at the UN-WG are explained. The next part summarises the approach for counting the number of impacted persons as a function of the model of pressure wave, the pressure peak, the limits of injured persons and the population density. Finally, the latest state of the discussion and the subsequent recommendations for a pV-value and the adequate phrases for explanation are introduced.
The fibre-break model developed at Mines ParisTech has been able to show the effect of pressurisation rate on pressure vessels. This simulation however had to use a smaller model, as the computation time becomes enormous for simulating a real-scale pressure vessel. Reduced volume method then has been studied on different model configuration. The study showed that the method can be used only on certain configurations. It also gives a positive insight to reduce the computation time.
The developed model has certain limitations of the element size to be used in the simulation to characterise the strength of composite materials. A reduced volume method is proposed in order to reduce the number of degree of freedom of the finite element simulation.This study has revealed certain configuration to be followed to speed up the computation time.
The developed fibre-break model from Mines-ParisTech requires an improvement in terms of calculation time for analysing real-scale model. By implementing the proposed method, the number of representative volume element and monte-carlo run can be optimised to obtain certain confidence level of the results. By reducing this level, faster computation can be done. This approach has given us a positive insight that it can be used for studying real-scale model of composite pressure vessels.
BAM acts as authority and for service in safety assessment of packages for transport and storage of radioactive materials. We offer extensive test capabilities and application of analytical methods for design verification and simulation for all types of packages for the transport and storage of radioactive materials according with the international IAEA Regulations for the safe transport and for national storage acceptance criteria. BAM operates several test facilities for drop and stacking testing, leak testing and thermal testing. The large drop test tower allows dropping full-scale specimens up to 200,000 kg in any drop orientation as requested. The comprehensive test facilities combined with long-term experience, newest equipment and measurement devices according to the latest state-of-the-art technology ensures realisation of complex test campaigns for package safety evaluation.
Beyond that, non-destructive and destructive material test devices and experts are available. Equipment and application of all kinds of typical measurement categories can be offered for testing campaigns.
In recent years we performed testing of full-scale type B package models with complex handling and preparation procedures. The results were contributed for different package design approval procedures. Type A packages mainly designed for medical related transport purposes, were continuously tested according to the transport regulations over recent years as well. Moreover, we work on research topics with relevance to package safety. The mechanical behaviour of lid closure systems under transport and storage conditions and the thermal behaviour of impact limiters were recently of special importance for the assessment competencies of BAM and were investigated under use of our test facilities.
The paper describes the test facilities and capabilities for package design safety evaluation at BAM and shows examples from our recent work.
Packages for the transport of Spent Nuclear Fuel and high active radioactive waste are designed to withstand severe accidents. Specific mechanical and thermal tests are defined in the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials in order to cover these hypothetical severe accidents. The thermal test mainly consists of a 30 minute fully engulfing fire. Components such as the package impact limiters can lead to supplementary energy release during the thermal test as they might continue burning after the fire phase. Local heat flux into the package can occur. Measurement of heat flux into the package is of importance to evaluate component temperatures and review their acceptance. The usability of heat flux sensors and temperature measurement equipment has to be tested to apply them in impact limiter fire testing. Further questions arise such as :“Is the infrared camera a useful tool to determine heat flux at the boundary surface?”
TAHYA Kick-Off Meeting
(2018)
The volumetric energy density of a gas can be increased by liquefaction, which occurs when the gas is cooled below the saturation point. Liquefied gases of great importance to the energy transition are Liquefied Hydrogen (LH2) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which can be liquefied at temperatures below 160°C. Systems for storing these gases typically must be overpressure resistant and require thermal super insulations (TSI) to hold cryogenic conditions and minimize boil-off losses from evaporation. TSI with vacuum and MLI or perlites are suitable for many applications involving LNG and LH2. Such systems are typically double-walled structures where the inner wall is in contact with the cryogenic liquefied gas. MLI or perlites are located in the gap between the inner and the outer wall, that is kept under vacuum conditions. This combination of insulations strongly reduces the heat transfer between the environment and the cryogenic liquefied gas. From an economic point of view the systems are well sophisticated. However, knowledge of the behavior of this kind of systems in a typical event such as a fire is limited, but necessary to evaluate the safety of the increasing number of applications.
The objective of the research is to determine how TSI behaves at different fire temperatures during fire exposure and afterwards. Special attention is paid to changes in the heat flux, the material properties and vacuum state over time. For this purpose, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) studies have been carried out. In addition, a test rig was developed that allows testing of TSI at temperatures up to 1000°C under realistic integration conditions and subsequent analysis of the TSI samples. In the test rig the double-wall with vacuum and MLI or perlites inside is simulated. The fire conditions are simulated on one side of the double-wall by adjustable electrical heating elements. This process allows the implementation of repeatable heat flows of up to 100 kW/m². On the other side of the double-wall, cold or cryogenic conditions are simulated with a heat exchanger through which water or the vapor of liquid nitrogen (approx. -196°C) flows. The heat exchanger is also used to determine the heat flux through the double-wall. Thus, the test rig allows thermal loading and performance analysis of TSI samples at the same time.
Compared to tests with real cryogenic systems, tests with this experimental setup have the advantage that, first, the instrumentation is easier to realize, and a higher repeatability is ensured. Second, the local heat flow can be determined over time, and the sample of a TSI can be taken non-destructively and thus analyzed. Third, the tests are less risky as well as time+ and material intensive, so that more tests and variants can be investigated with the same budget.
Preliminary results obtained considering several types of MLI under vacuum show that all observed typs of MLI can be damaged under strong thermal loading. The damages observed were outgassing, melting, shrinkage, cracking, lump formation, and concomitant local loss of the MLI's function as a radiation shield. However, the study also shows that a damage does not always have an extreme effect on the insulating performance.
Liquefied Hydrogen (LH2) or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
establish themselves as important energy carriers in the transport
sector. Its storage requires tanks with Thermal Super Insulations
(TSI) to keep the transported fluid cold. TSI has proven itself in
various applications over a long time, but not in the land
transport sector, where accidents involving collisions, fires, and
their combination are to be expected. The focus of this study is
to investigate the behavior of different types of TSI when
exposed to a heat source that represents a fire. Therefore, a High-
Temperature Thermal Vacuum Chamber (HTTVC) was used that
allows the thermal loading of thermal insulation material in a
vacuum and measuring the heat flow through the TSI in parallel.
Within this study, 5 samples were tested regarding 3 different
types of MLI, rock wool, and perlites. The thermal exposure
caused different effects on the samples. In practice, this can be
connected to the rapid release of flammable gases as well as a
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion (BLEVE). These
results are relevant for the evaluation of accident scenarios, the
improvement of TSI, and the development of emergency
measures.
Liquefied Hydrogen (LH2) or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) establish themselves as important energy carriers in the transport sector. Its storage requires tanks with Thermal Super Insulations (TSI) to keep the transported fluid cold. The presentation includes 2 main topics of the department.
First TSI has proven itself in various applications over a long time, but not in the land transport sector, where accidents involving collisions, fires, and their combination are to be expected. To analyze fire scenarios a High-Temperature Thermal Vacuum Chamber (HTTVC) was developed that allows the thermal loading of thermal insulation material in a vacuum and measuring the heat flow through the TSI in parallel. Within this chamber, 5 samples were tested regarding 3 different types of MLI, rock wool, and perlites. In the presentation, the results are presented.
Second, the studying of accident scenarios enables the improvement of thermal superinsulation and to find novel insulation concepts. This is necessary for LH2 large-scale storages, for which state-of-the-art solutions are not suitable. Within the presentation, a novel insulation concept will be presented.
Die volumetrische Energiedichte eines Gases kann durch Verflüssigung erhöht wer-den. Diese findet statt, wenn das Gas unter den Siedepunkt abgekühlt wird. Verflüs-sigte Gase mit großer Bedeutung für die Energiewende sind verflüssigter Wasser-stoff (LH2) und verflüssigtes Erdgas (LNG), dessen Verflüssigung Temperaturen von unter -160 °C bedarf. Systeme zur Speicherung dieser verflüssigten Gase müssen in der Regel für Überdrücke ausgelegt sein und benötigen thermische Superisolierun-gen (TSI), um die tiefkalten Bedingungen über längere Zeit halten zu können und Verluste durch Boil-Off gering zu halten. TSI mit Vakuum und MLI oder Perlit sind für viele Anwendungen mit LNG und LH2 geeignet. Bei solchen Systemen handelt es sich in der Regel um doppelwandige Strukturen, bei denen die Innenwand mit dem tiefkalten Fluid in Kontakt steht. Die Lücke, zwischen der Innen- und der Außen-wand befindet sich unter Vakuumbedingungen und enthält zudem MLI oder Perlite. Diese Kombination von Isolationsmethoden ermöglicht es auf kleinstem Raum sehr gute thermische Isolationswirkung zu erreichen. Aus wirtschaftlicher Sicht sind die Systeme gut durchdacht. Das Wissen über das Verhalten dieser Systeme bei einem typischen Ereignis wie einem Brand ist jedoch begrenzt. Dieses Wissen ist aber not-wendig, um die Sicherheit der wachsenden Zahl von Anwendungen auf dem Markt bewerten zu können.
German spent nuclear fuel and high level waste is stored in dry conditions in interim storage facilities until a final repository will be ready for operation in the future. Dual purpose casks are used for the packaging of the materials to ensure transportability at any time during long-term interim storage and fulfilling both requirements from interim storage as well as transport. Germany’s 2011 decision to phase out utilization of nuclear energy has led to a high demand for casks for decommissioning power plants as quickly as possible. Cask serial production will continue at a high level for the next few years. In the process, a system of quality assurance measures ensures that every cask reliably complies with design specification according the transport approval certificate and storage license.
When the first casks were manufactured in Germany about 40 years ago, quality assurance was oriented towards pressure vessel and general nuclear manufacturing. The system was continuously adapted to the state of the art. In particular serial production, globalization of manufacturing and deep supplier chains had to be taken into account. The system of quality assurance measures applied today for cask manufacturing shall be presented here.
The quality assurance measures can be categorized as system-related and design-related. With respect to transport regulations for example, they are independently approved and monitored by the competent authority BAM and its authorized inspection experts. The qualification of the applicant is reviewed first in the context of the design approval procedure and then periodically. The qualification of component and cask manufacturers is also checked at the start of manufacturing and then periodically. Before the start of manufacturing documents such as quality plans are pre-assessed. Manufacturing and inspection are then performed according to the pre-assessed documents. Cask manufacturing is completed by a final inspection before commissioning. Periodic inspections during operation ensure preservation of the properties specified in the approval certificate over package life time. The type and the time interval of periodic inspections depend on the use of the package. For transport after interim storage a system of specific tests and inspections is prescribed.
Formulations have been assembled and (some) have been validated to simulate the potential damaging effect of a sloshing cargo on the railway material. Results suggest that: -Spatial determinism of the wheel forces due to sloshing, as a function of curve radius, distance between wheelsets and vehicle speed. -Sloshing forces can contribute in a significant way to railway material failure. Further analysis should be performed:-to validate these results (field observations)-to include a stress analysis of the potential effect of the yaw stiffness of the cars on the rail forces.
Structural health monitoring of hydrogen pressure vessels using distributed fiber optic sensing
(2024)
We report on distributed fiber optic sensing-based monitoring of hydrogen composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) to simultaneously increase the operational lifespan and mitigate maintenance costs. Our approach represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first application of distributed fiber optic sensing for COPV Type IV monitoring, where the sensing fibers are attached to the surface, rather than integrated into the composite material. Specifically, we attach an optical fiber of 50 m to the pressure vessel's surface, covering both the cylindrical and dome sections. We note that our fiber optic sensing technique relies on swept wavelength interferometry providing strain information along the entire length of the optical fiber with high spatial resolution even at the millimeter scale. When the vessel is pressurized, the sensing optical fiber shows a linear strain response to pressure at every position along the fiber. After thousands of load cycles, the vessel finally fails with the optical fiber detecting and precisely localizing the damage in the vessel’s blind dome area. Furthermore, we discuss the potential of state-of-the-art signal processing methods and machine learning for advancing predictive maintenance. This could reduce the number of regular inspections, mitigate premature maintenance costs, and simultaneously increase the vessel’s remaining safe service life. We believe that the structural health monitoring of hydrogen pressure vessels with fiber optic sensors can enhance trust in hydrogen technology contributing to the energy transition in the future.
Am Fallturm auf dem Testgelände Technische Sicherheit (TTS) der BAM wurden bei Inspektionen Vorspannungsverluste in den Bolzen der Stahlverbindungen festgestellt. Um ein Verständnis für die zugrundeliegenden Trag- und Schädigungsmechanismen zu erlangen und um den Zustand der vorgespannten Schraubverbindungen langzeitlich zu überwachen, wurde am Fallturm ein Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) System installiert. Für die Auslegung des Monitoringsystems sowie zur Unterstützung der Untersuchung des Schädigungsprozesses wurde ein numerisches Modell erstellt und in Bezug auf die gemessenen Antworten des Tragwerks kalibriert.
Im Vortrag werden die experimentellen und numerischen Untersuchungen zur Systemidentifikation des Stahlrohrgitterturms als auch die Überwachungskampagne mit dem eingesetzten Monitoringsystem sowie die Messergebnisse und deren Bewertung vorgestellt.
While hydrogen is one of the most promising energy carriers, the safety of hydrogen storage technology remains one of the most important factors for technological and societal approval. While the engineering safety factors of the pressure vessels are kept high, the periodic inspection and the limited lifetime are making the application very costly considering manpower, time, money, and material waste. The development of an integrated structural health monitoring system can allow an easy transition from the current situation to cost-effective predictive maintenance. Hence, we propose to integrate three different SHM systems into hydrogen pressure vessels, namely guided wave ultrasonics, acoustic emission, and fibre optic sensing, to continuously monitor the condition and integrity.
In this work, we evaluated the condition of a Type IV composite overwrapped pressure vessel using ultrasonic guided wave propagation. We mounted fifteen piezo-electric wafers on the composite cylinder by shaping three rings containing five sensors each. We acquired data from the sensor network following different boundary conditions with artificial damages on the selected locations. The data were evaluated with guided wave tomography techniques using ultrasonic features (amplitude, frequency, etc.) as well as artificial intelligence (AI). The results suggest that both traditional guided wave fusion techniques and AI-based characterization methods can detect artificial damages. In future work, it is planned to integrate acoustic emission and fibre optic sensing. Moreover, the measurement and the test results will be implemented into a digital twin to derive trends and make predictions on the damage propagation as well as the remaining useful lifetime.
This work has received funding from German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Actions within the QI-Digital initiative (www.qi-digital.de).
A reliable finite element analysis presupposes a qualified model of the object to be analyzed. The finite element mesh density may significantly vary throughout a model. A transition between dissimilar meshes can be accomplished by a gradual change of element size or by an interface with constraint conditions. Some issues may arise from such mesh transitions. Generally, a finer mesh can transmit signals of higher frequency than a coarser mesh. Stress wave propagation through the model could be affected by the transition region or the artificially induced interface. Stress waves generated within the fine mesh could be partly encapsulated by the surrounding coarse mesh. Therefore poor mesh transitions could result in reflections or shape changes of stress waves. A thin rod is investigated to demonstrate the effects.
This study supports the development of the ASME Guidance Document "Use of Explicit Finite Element Analysis for the Evaluation of Nuclear Transport and Storage Packages in Energy-Limited Impact Events".
Storage
(2018)
The whole conference focused on gaps in research concerning hydrogen and hydrogen safety. This presentation focus on storage aspects and shows the current gaps in research from the point of view of the authors. They have differences in background, from university via manufacturer and safety institute to hydrogen operating industry. The different purposes of storage are covered (onboard storage, stationary storage and transport of gases) as well as the different designs (steel to pure composite/plastic).
In den internationalen Gefahrgutvorschriften ist vorgeschrieben, dass Säcke und flexible Großpackmittel (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container – FIBC) staubdicht sein müssen. Eine quantitative Definition des Terminus Staubdichtheit, wie in anderen Technikgebieten üblich, ist jedoch nicht gegeben. Auch geeignete Prüfverfahren zum Nachweis der Staubdichtheit sind in den Vorschriften nicht genannt.
In der Praxis der stichpunkartigen Kontrollen von Gefahrguttransporten durch die Schwerlastgruppe der Autobahnpolizei Münster werden immer wieder Austritte von pulverförmigen oder körnigen Gefahrgütern aus eigentlich intakten Säcken und FIBC detektiert. Es wird ein Überblick über die im Jahr 2018 festgestellten Gefahrgutaustritte aus diesen Gefahrgutverpackungen sowie eine systematische Einordnung hinsichtlich betroffener Bauarten und möglicher Ursachen gegeben.
Bei der Stofffreisetzung aus intakten Gefahrgutverpackungen liegt ein mechanischer Transport von Partikeln durch Leckkanäle, z. B. im Verschluss-, Naht- oder Wandungsbereich, vor. Generell kommen zwei Freisetzungswege in Frage: Einerseits eine Langzeit-Freisetzung während des Transports, hervorgerufen durch eine kombinierte Wirkung von Stapellast des Füllguts und Transportvibrationen; andererseits eine stoßartige Freisetzung.
Auf Grundlage von durchgeführten Untersuchungen hinsichtlich der stoßartigen Freisetzung pulverförmiger Stoffe aus Gefahrgutsäcken werden erste Lösungsansätze hin zu einer Verbesserung der Staubdichtheit von Gefahrgutsäcken und -FIBC vorgestellt. Es wird ein Ausblick auf nachfolgende Arbeiten gegeben.
Die Verfügbarkeit von Behältern für die Entsorgung nicht Wärme entwickelnder radioaktiver Abfälle im Endlager Konrad stellt ein wesentliches Element des nationalen Entsorgungskonzeptes für diese Abfallart dar. Grundlage für die Verfügbarkeit geeigneter Behälter sind typspezifische Bauartprüfungen, auf deren Grundlage eine Eignungs-feststellung in Form eines Prüfzeugnisses durch die Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH (BGE), vormals Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS), erfolgt. Die Prüfgrundlagen sind in den durch das BfS (heute BGE) veröffent-lichten „Anforderungen an endzulagernde radioaktive Abfälle“ (Endlagerungsbedingungen) sowie der zugehörigen „Produktkontrolle radioaktiver Abfälle, radiologische Aspekte“ (PK) verankert. Die Eignungsfeststellung für eine Behälterbauart ist gleichzeitig die Grundlage für eine Behälterserienfertigung entsprechend den im Prüfzeugnis verankerten Spezifikationen und Randbedingungen.
Mit den Gesetzen zur Neuordnung der Organisationsstruktur im Bereich der Endlagerung (Mitte 2016) und zur Neuordnung der Verantwortung in der kerntechnischen Entsorgung (Mitte 2017) mit der Finanzierung des Kern-energieausstiegs wurden wesentliche Weichenstellungen im Hinblick auf den anstehenden Rückbau der bereits stillgelegten und in den kommenden Jahren noch stillzulegenden deutschen Kernkraftwerke vorgenommen. Bezüg-lich der nicht Wärme entwickelnden radioaktiven Abfälle führt dies zu einer spürbaren Intensivierung der Anstren-gungen zur Bereitstellung qualifizierter Gebinde für das Endlager Konrad, das nach aktueller Planung bis 2027 sei-nen Einlagerungsbetrieb aufnehmen soll. Dies wiederum führt zu einer erheblichen Verdichtung der Verfahren zur Behälterbauartprüfung, die allen Seiten (Antragsteller, BGE, Gutachter) erhebliche Anstrengungen abfordert.
Die Bundesanstalt für Materialprüfung und –forschung (BAM) ist auf Grundlage des Kap. 7 der o. g. „Produktkon-trolle …“ (PK) von der BGE mit den Behälterbauartprüfungen für das Endlager Konrad beauftragt. Hierbei ist eine Vielzahl von Anforderungen zu berücksichtigen, wozu neben den Anforderungen an Abfallbehälter gemäß Kap. 5 der Endlagerungsbedingungen weitere Anforderungen an die Verpackung (Kap. 3.2.2 PK), Kenngrößen (Kap. 3.5.1 PK) und schließlich die eigentliche Prüfung von Behältern/Verpackungen zählt (Kap. 7 PK). Letzteres beinhaltet die umfassende Behälterbeschreibung und –spezifikation, die Behälterauslegung, die thermischen und mechanischen Baumusterprüfungen (z.B. Brand- und Fallprüfungen), und schließlich die qualitätssichernden Maßnahmen für Her-stellung und Betrieb der Behälter. Neben der klassischen Bauartprüfung neuer Behältertypen spielt auch die Prü-fung bereits hergestellter Behälter, sog. Altbehälter, eine wesentliche Rolle, da sich etliche tausend Gebinde be-reits in der Zwischenlagerung befinden und nach Möglichkeit für das Endlager Konrad qualifiziert werden sollen.
Dieser Beitrag berichtet aktuell über den Umfang und Stand der laufenden Bauartprüfungen bei der BAM unter Be-rücksichtigung der besonderen Herausforderungen und der zuletzt erzielten Fortschritte. Dabei erfordert die paral-lele Bearbeitung der zahlreichen Verfahren einen verstärkten Koordinierungsbedarf hinsichtlich vergleichbarer fach-licher Aspekte sowie hinsichtlich Priorisierung und Ressourceneinsatz. Bei den experimentellen Nachweisen (Fall- und Brandversuche) betrifft das hinsichtlich der Nutzung der Versuchseinrichtungen bei der BAM die Koordination mit anderen Prüfaufträgen, wie z. B. verkehrsrechtliche Baumusterprüfungen. Schließlich erfordern diverse Fach-fragen zur Interpretation der Anforderungen aus Endlagerungsbedingungen und Produktkontrolle intensive Abstim-mungsprozesse zwischen BAM, BGE und Antragstellern. Wichtige Ergebnisse mit übergeordneter Bedeutung wer-den in Form erläuternder Fachnotizen durch die BGE veröffentlicht und können so bei zukünftigen Antragsverfahren berücksichtigt werden.
The characterization of spent fuel and radioactive waste is essential in the evaluation of the ability of these materials to meet acceptance criteria. Prior to determining a method for spent fuel characterization, it is necessary to identify the type of data required to support safety and other analyses for the storage, transportation and final disposal of spent fuel. BAM’s understanding and capabilities in the field of spent fuel characterization are presented for the scope of a coordinated research project on the topic.
The European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management (EURAD) is working on Spent Fuel Characterization (SFC) in its work package (WP) 8. Inspired by the EURAD activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) established an international Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on SFC. The EURAD WP SFC
participants are collaborating as a team on the IAEA CRP on SFC. The EURAD WP SFC project consists of four tasks. Task 3 investigates the behaviour of nuclear fuel and cladding after discharge. The aim of these activities is to understand and describe the evolution of the cladding-pellet system and its ageing under conditions of extended interim storage, transportation and emplacement in a final disposal system. At a Consultancy Meeting, BAM as contributor to Task 3 presented current results of the failure analysis of irradiated ZIRLO® claddings under conditions of the Ring Compression Test.
German packages for the transport of spent nuclear fuel are 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 German authority BAM for the evaluation of spent fuel behavior within the package design approval procedure. Specific test conditions will be analyzed with regard to assumptions to be used in the activity release and criticality safety analysis. In particular the different failure modes of the fuel rods, which can cause release of gas, volatiles, fuel particles or fragments, have to be properly considered in these assumptions. 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 application of sophisticated numerical models requires extensive experimental data for model verification, which are in general not available. The gaps in information concerning the material properties of cladding and pellets, especially for the high burn-up fuel, make the analysis more complicated additionally, and require a conservative approach. In this context some practical approaches based on experiences by BAM within safety assessment of packages for transport of spent fuel will be discussed. Ongoing research activities to investigate SNF mechanical behavior in view of gas and fissile material release under transport loads are presented.
Tanks with capacity larger than 700 m3, could be exposed to a resonance excitation when subjected to earthquake motions, regardless of the fill level. Further studies to assess the dynamic forces linked to such resonance and close-to-resonance situations, in a context of a standard overloading situation due to sloshing forces.