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In order to investigate the heat fluxes over a wide range of surface temperatures during a propane gas fire test and to get information about local fire impact a fire reference package, representing the outer geometry of a specific type of transport cask for radioactive waste, was designed. A closed steel sheet cylinder with a wall thickness of 10 mm was chosen as fire reference package. The cylinder was filled with refractory insulation material and instrumented with thermocouples distributed all over the cylinder. The local steel sheet temperatures measured allow the determination of local as well as global heat fluxes as a function of time and surface temperature.
With this fire reference package three open-air propane gas fire tests were performed at BAM’s open air fire test stand. The flame exposure time period was changed for the different fire tests. Furthermore, the wind conditions changed between and during the tests. Test stand parameters like wind shield location and propane gas volume flow were chosen constant for the three tests. The test results were used to determine the changes of heat flux into the fire reference package in relation to the package surface temperature. This data also allows the calculation of local characteristics of the propane gas fire as there are the flame temperature, the fire convection coefficient and the radiation exchange coefficient in a first approach. The recently conducted tests provide an initial picture of local fire characteristics of the propane gas fire test facility. The test shows that the propane gas fire covers the IAEA-fire over a wide range of surface temperatures with the chosen test stand parameters.
Accident safe packages for the transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste shall fulfil international IAEA safety requirements. Compliance is shown by consecutive mechanical and thermal testing. Additional numerical analysis are usually part of the safety evaluation. For damage protection some package designs are equipped with wood filled impact limiters encapsulated by steel sheets. The safety of these packages is established in compliance with IAEA regulations. Cumulative mechanical and fire tests are conducted to achieve safety standards and to prevent loss of containment. Mechanical reliability is proven by drop tests. Drop testing might cause significant damage of the impact limiter steel sheets and might enable sufficient oxygen supply to the impact limiter during the fire test to ignite the wood filling. The boundary conditions of the fire test are precisely described in the IAEA regulatory. During the test the impact limiter will be subjected to a 30 minute enduring fire phase. Subsequent to the fire phase any burning of the specimen has to extinguish naturally and no artificial cooling is allowed. At BAM a large-scale fire test with a real size impact limiter and a wood volume of about 3m3 was conducted to investigate the burning behaviour of wood filled impact limiters in steel sheet encapsulation. The impact limiter was equipped with extensive temperature monitoring equipment. Until today burning of such impact limiters is not sufficiently considered in transport package design and more investigation is necessary to explore the consequences of the impacting fire. The objective of the large scale test was to find out whether a self-sustaining smouldering or even a flaming fire inside the impact limiter was initiated and what impact on the cask is resulting. The amount of energy, transferred from the impact limiter into the cask is of particular importance for the safety of heavy weight packages. With the intention of heat flux quantification a new approach was made and a test bench was designed.
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.
Packages for the transport and storage of radioactive materials are often sealed with elastomer or metal seals. These seals are basic components to meet the leak tightness criteria for these kind of packages. An overview over ongoing research and development concerning metal and elastomer seals is given in the presentation. Introductions in the fundamental functionality of elastomer and metal seals are presented. Ageing processes are shown for both components regarding to different ageing effects.
Accident safe packages for the transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste shall fulfil international IAEA safety requirements. Compliance is shown by consecutive mechanical and thermal testing. Additional numerical analysis are usually part of the safety evaluation. For damage protection some package designs are equipped with wood filled impact limiters encapsulated by steel sheets. The safety of these packages is established in compliance with IAEA regulations. Cumulative mechanical and fire tests are conducted to achieve safety standards and to prevent loss of containment. Mechanical reliability is proven by drop tests. Drop testing might cause significant damage of the impact limiter steel sheets and might enable sufficient oxygen supply to the impact limiter during the fire test to ignite the wood filling. The boundary conditions of the fire test are precisely described in the IAEA regulatory. During the test the impact limiter will be subjected to a 30 minute enduring fire phase. Subsequent to the fire phase any burning of the specimen has to extinguish naturally and no artificial cooling is allowed. At BAM a large-scale fire test with a real size impact limiter and a wood volume of about 3m³ was conducted to investigate the burning behaviour of wood filled impact limiters in steel sheet encapsulation. The impact limiter was equipped with extensive temperature monitoring equipment. Until today burning of such impact limiters is not sufficiently considered in transport package design and more investigation is necessary to explore the consequences of the impacting fire. The objective of the large scale test was to find out whether a self-sustaining smouldering or even a flaming fire inside the impact limiter was initiated and what impact on the cask is resulting. The amount of energy, transferred from the impact limiter into the cask is of particular importance for the safety of heavy weight packages. With the intention of heat flux quantification a new approach was made and a test bench was designed. A first computational simulation of transport package temperatures taking into account the results of the conducted fire test was performed.