Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
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Organisationseinheit der BAM
- 3 Gefahrgutumschließungen; Energiespeicher (11) (entfernen)
The storage of spent fuel and high level radioactive waste in Germany is performed in interim storage containers with double lid systems. The lids are bolted and equipped with metal seals (e.g. Helicoflex®) to ensure the safe enclosure of the inventory. The used metal seals have a layered structure consisting of three components as can be seen schematically in the cross-sectional view in Fig. 1.
In the center a helical spring is positioned that is surrounded by two C-shaped jackets and is mainly responsible for generation of the required restoring force. The inner jacket is made of stainless steel and homogenizes the restoring force of the helical spring. The outer jacket is made of silver or aluminium which both are soft metals in comparison to the contact partners (lid and container body). During bolting of the lid to the container body the seal is compressed. The generated restoring force of the helical spring causes a plastic deformation of the outer jacket and adapts to the surfaces of the lid and the container body. Hence, leakage paths are closed and the sealing function is generated.
Typical durations for existing interim storage licenses in Germany are 40 years, but it can be expected that they have to be extended to longer periods as a final repository will not be available before the end of the running licence periods. This extension of license periods requires a solid understanding of the long-term behaviour of the seals under storage conditions. To meet this challenge long-term investigations have been started at Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM) in 2009. These tests focus on seals assembled in test flanges which are stored at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 150 °C for accelerated ageing. The aged seals are tested repeatedly after certain ageing steps and the leakage rate as indicator for sealing performance, the remaining seal force, and the useable resilience upon decompression are determined.
In the poster an update on the performed investigations in respect to earlier publications (Grelle et al. 2019, Goral et al. 2023) will be given and the implications of the results for resilient long term safety will be presented. Additionally, a focus will be laid on the currently planned further investigations and the question “What is additionally needed for evaluation of an interim storage period extension in regard to the used metal seals?” will be addressed.
Packagings for the transport of dangerous goods need to meet special requirements to get an approval. This includes free fall drop testing onto an essentially unyielding surface as a means to assess a package’s resistance to mechanical damage. A main requirement for drop tests is that the impact target’s mass shall be at least 50 times that of the heaviest package to be tested. Nevertheless, many manufacturers do not possess foundation structures with the required mass ratio. Previous evidence highlights that the mass ratio is not a decisive criterion on its own. Parameters such as the impact target foundation’s connection and the impulse experienced by the impacting object are essential as well. However, these factors are not easily verifiable since experimental measurements are not possible at most facilities. The objective of this work is to provide a detailed analysis on the interaction between impact target foundation and subgrade in dynamic impact testing using validated finite-element (FE) models. This research is highly beneficial for industrial application since it allows manufacturers to make informed predictions about the mechanical response of installed impact target foundations.
Nowadays, in every terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem, even in the remotest areas, small residues of plastics, the so called microplastic (MP) can be found. MPs are particles with a size of 1-1000 µm (ISO/TR 21960:2020), mainly containing synthetic polymers like polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Even styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) as an indication for tire wear is included due to similar particle formation. To understand the MPs consequences to the environment, it is of high priority to capture its extent of contamination. It is surprising that in the analysis of polymer masses in environmental samples, PE, PS and SBR are often detected, but only small amounts of PP, although this is the second most commonly produced standard plastic and many MP particles originate from carelessly disposed packaging materials.
This presentation provides hypotheses about the reasons of rare PP identification and mass quantification in environmental samples. Different investigations of pristine PP and representative environmental samples, including the pre-treatment by Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) or with density separation followed by the thermal extraction / desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS) are presented. The results are discussed according to the material properties and a possible degradation mechanism under different weathering conditions which indicate less stability under relevant storage conditions.
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are one technology to overcome the challenges of climate and energy crisis. They are widely used in electric vehicles, consumer electronics, or as storage for renewable energy sources. However, despite innovations in batteries' components like cathode and anode materials, separators, and electrolytes, the aging mechanism related to metallic aluminum current collector degradation causes a significant drop in their performance and prevents the durable use of LIBs.[1] Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES) is a powerful method for depth-profiling of batteries' electrode materials. This work investigates aging-induced aluminum deposition on commercial lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries' cathodes. The results illustrate the depth-resolved elemental distribution from the cathode surface to the current collector. An accumulation of aluminum is found on the cathode surface by GD-OES, consistent with results from energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) combined with focused ion beam (FIB) cutting. In comparison to FIB-EDX, GD-OES allows a fast and manageable depth-profiling. Results from different positions on an aged cathode indicate an inhomogeneous aluminum film growth on the surface. The conclusions from these experiments can lead to a better understanding of the degradation of the aluminum current collector, thus leading to higher lifetimes of LIBs.
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are one technology to overcome the challenges of climate and energy crisis. They are widely used in electric vehicles, consumer electronics, or as storage for renewable energy sources. However, despite innovations in batteries' components like cathode and anode materials, separators, and electrolytes, the aging mechanism related to metallic aluminum current collector degradation causes a significant drop in their performance and prevents the durable use of LIBs. Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES) is a powerful method for depth-profiling of batteries' electrode materials. This work investigates aging-induced aluminum deposition on commercial lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries' cathodes. The results illustrate the depth-resolved elemental distribution from the cathode surface to the current collector. An accumulation of aluminum is found on the cathode surface by GD-OES, consistent with results from energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) combined with focused ion beam (FIB) cutting. In comparison to FIB-EDX, GD-OES allows a fast and manageable depth-profiling. Results from different positions on an aged cathode indicate an inhomogeneous aluminum film growth on the surface. The conclusions from these experiments can lead to a better understanding of the degradation of the aluminum current collector, thus leading to higher lifetimes of LIBs.
Packages for the transport of high-level radioactive material must withstand severe hypothetical accidents. Regulatory test conditions shall cover these severe accident conditions and consist of mechanical tests and a following thermal test. To withstand the mechanical tests heavy weight packages are often designed with impact limiters consisting of wood encapsulated in steel sheets. The thermal test is defined precisely in the IAEA-regulations as a 30 minute fully engulfing 800 °C fire. After the fire phase a pre-damaged impact limiter might continue burning or smouldering and influence the cask thermal behaviour with its energy release. The energy transferred from the impact limiter to the cask is of importance for the safety of transport packages. A full-scale fire test with an impact limiter of 2.3 m in diameter and filled with spruce wood was designed and performed. The impact limiter continued burning for 3 days. Energy transfer and temperature measurements were performed.
THz and mid IR spectroscopy of high-molecular PE (HMW) and ultra high-molecular PE (UHMW) reveals modifications of the molecular structure. Characteristic absorption bands are changed if the two materials are exposed by γ-Co60 radiation up to 600 kGy and subsequently stored at an annealing temperature of 398 K until for 729 days. UHMW-PE and HMW-PE behave differently during the ageing process because of their molecular weight and inherent structure distinctions. The spectroscopic data offer characteristic absorption bands, which have been used to describe the complete ageing process in more detail. For instance, the integral absorption in the B1u THz-region can be used to describe quantitatively the reduction of crystallinity. The formation of trans vinylene unsaturation and the decay of vinyl during ageing can be observed in detail in the mid IR range.
Depending on the specific plastic’s ageing sensitivities, the durations which plastic components remain in the environment can be very long. As, in the past, the advantages in ageing resistance and durability were highly evaluated, we now face the problem of quite stable plastic waste within the environment.
However, there is only little knowledge on the real timescales until macroscopic fragmentation for the different kinds of plastic under various environmental conditions.
Here, weathering methods are presented, which have been used for the failure prediction in specific outdoor conditions. Issues of uncertainty, reproducibility, or validation are discussed.
For the prediction of the plastic’s fragmentation, much longer time scales have to be considered. To do this within a limited project life span, various processes as well as their acceleration potential have to be evaluated separately, such as temperature increase or spectral shift.
The possibilities and limitations of such controlled acceleration will be discussed.
Heating oil storage tanks made of polyethylene grades have been on the market in Germany since the early 1970s. To ensure safety, their replacement is recommended by tank manufacturers after a period of 30 years. Polyethylene is subject to ageing by alteration of the properties during its life cycle. The degree of degradation and the nature of the process mainly depend on the chemical alteration of the polyethylene, the wall thickness of the tank and the environmental conditions. There are no data available on the long-term behaviour of the polyethylene grades, especially after a service life of more than 30 years.
The aim of this investigation was to find a suitable test method to determine the factual degree of damage in comparison to the uncontaminated polyethylene grades. Material data of the used polyethylene grades are available because the BAM was the competent authority for the tests and expert reports for the approval of these tanks until the middle of the 1990s. Therefore, tank sections from the bottom, the shell and the roof of 22 individual storage tanks produced of polyethylene grades A and B have been examined by Melt Flow Rate (MFR) and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR). Their service life was in the range between 20 and 41 years.
The MFR measurements of the tank sections showed differences in the values depending on the weight which was used (5 kg or 21.6 kg). An increase of the MFR was determined for the samples of polyethylene grade A, whereas a reduction of the MFR values was measured for most samples of polyethylene grade B. This grade is mainly subject to the internal ageing by cross-linkages, increased degree of branched molecules and loss of the plasticizer.
ATR analysis exhibits an absorption band at 909 cm‒1 predominantly in samples of polyethylene grade A indicating chain scission and concomitantly formed terminal vinyl groups. This absorption band can be used for the characterization of the ageing of the polyethylene grades.
Tanks for heating oil made of polyethylene grades have been on the market since the early 1970s in Germany. Tank manufacturers recommend the replacement of the tanks after a period of 30 years due to guarantee safety. Polyethylene grades are subject to ageing by alteration of the properties during their life cycle. The degree of ageing and the nature of the degradation process mainly depend on the chemical degradation of the polyethylene, the wall thickness of the tank and the environmental conditions. There are no results available on the long-term behavior of the polyethylene grades, especially after a service life of more than 30 years. The aim of this investigation was the determination of the factual degree of damage in comparison to the uncontaminated polyethylene grades. Material data of the used polyethylene grades are available because the BAM was the competent authority for the tests and expert reports for the approval of these tanks until the middle of the 1990s.
The determination of the Melt Flow Rate (MFR) and the Fourier Transmission IR Spectroscopy (FTIR) of tank sections from the bottom, the shell and the roof of 10 segregated heating oil storage tanks produced of polyethylene grades A and B were used as tests methods.
The MFR measurements of the tank sections showed differences in the values depending on the weight which was used (5 kg or 21.6 kg). A reduction of the MFR values was measured for most of the sections of tanks made of polyethylene grade B after a service life of the tanks of more than 30 years. This grade is mainly subject to the internal ageing by cross-linkages, increased degree of branched molecules and loss of the plasticizer, and to a lesser extent by oxidative degradation. The FTIR analysis, especially of tank sections of the bottom and the shell showed that the intensity of the CH2 asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations in the range: 2800 - 2900 cm-1 and the CH2 bending deformation vibration at 1400 cm-1 increased due chain scissions. The intensity of the carbonyl stretching vibration C=O at 1740 cm-1 is low. The carbonyl index characterizes the degree of oxidation.