Kerntechnische Entsorgung
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- Cladding Embrittlement (1)
- Dissolution behaviour (1)
- Failure Mechanism (1)
- Finite element analysis (1)
- Length of puncture bar (1)
- Lid-system (1)
- Mechanical assessment (1)
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- O-ring metal seal (1)
- Puncture bar test (1)
- Radial Hydrides (1)
- Ring compression test (1)
- Sensitivity analysis (1)
- Spent fuel characterization (1)
- Spent nuclear fuel management (1)
- Stochastic variation of material properties (1)
- Transport and storage cask (1)
- Transport of radioactive materials (1)
- ZIRLO® (1)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
- 3.4 Sicherheit von Lagerbehältern (4) (entfernen)
SFC is a work package in Eurad that investigates issues related to the properties of the spent nuclear fuel in the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Decay heat, nuclide inventory, and fuel integrity (mechanical and otherwise), and not least the related uncertainties, are among the primary focal points of SFC. These have very significant importance for the safety and operational aspect of the back-end. One consequence is the operation economy of the back-end, where deeper understanding and quantification allow for significant optimization, meaning that significant parts of the costs can be reduced. In this paper, SFC is described, and examples of results are presented at about half-time of the work package, which will finish in 2024. The DisCo project started in 2017 and finished in November 2021 and was funded under the Horizon 2020 Euratom program. It investigated if the properties of modern fuel types, namely doped fuel, and MOX, cause any significant difference in the dissolution behavior of the fuel matrix compared with standard fuels. Spent nuclear fuel experiments were complemented with studies on model materials as well as the development of models describing the solid state, the dissolution process, and reactive transport in the near field. This research has improved the understanding of processes occurring at the interface between spent nuclear fuel and aqueous solution, such as redox reactions. Overall, the results show that from a long-term fuel matrix dissolution point of view, there is no significant difference between MOX fuel, Cr+Al-doped fuel, and standard fuels.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between hydride morphology, in particular the presence of radial hydrides (RHs), stress state and failure mechanisms associated with the ring compression test (RCT). Samples of ZIRLO®cladding were pre-hydrided and subjected to thermo-mechanical treatments to precipitate long radial hydrides. The results show that the reorientation treatment was very successful. A considerable fraction of RHs was generated, the radial hydride continuity factor being around 80 to 90% of the wall thickness. The samples with reoriented hydrides were tested using the RCT at room temperature. Macroscopic brittle failure was observed with sudden load drops for displacements around 0.5 mm, with a calculated “offset strain”between 0.5 and 1%. Crack nucleation occurs in RHs located in regions with the highest values of hoop stress. These locations are the inner diameter of cladding at the vertical plane of the sample (12 and 6 o’clock positions) and the outer diameter at the horizontal plane (3 and 9 o’clock positions). Noticeable load drops in the RCT are associated with unstable crack propagation events through the radial hydride network, the crack front reaching up to 90% of the wall thickness in some cases. The failure micro-mechanism is quasi-cleavage in the hydrides and micro-void nucleation, growth and coalescence in the Zr matrix, with ductile tearing patches connecting neighboring hydrides. The main conclusion is that radial hydride metrics is not the only parameter that determines cladding failure in the presence of RHs, but the interaction between the location and continuity of RHs and the stress normal to the hydride (the hoop stress in this case). Consequently, if a radial hydride is located at a position within the cladding where the hoop stress is small, a crack will not be initiated easily in the RCT.
Metal seals of O-ring form are often used in lid-systems of transport and storage casks for radioactive waste in Germany. To investigate their mechanical behaviour, three dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) models were created using solid elements for all of the seal components. The material behaviour of each component is described with a unified static elastic-plastic material model. The total strain is defined as the sum of linear elastic strain and plastic strain with power-law hardening. The model was carefully validated by comparison of Simulation results with experimental results. The influence of material fluctuation of each seal component due to varying properties and the sensitivity of different seal diameters on the seal force are analysed and discussed.
The results show that the material properties of helical spring have major influence on seal force and that the influence of seal diameters is negligible small in the studied range. This is very important to use the test results from seals with small diameter for the assessment of seal behaviour with larger diameter as used in transport and storage cask.
Numerical approach to determine the correct puncture bar length for the IAEA puncture bar drop test
(2018)
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.