Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Container Accident Testing

Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) containers, also known as “casks” in the United States, or “flasks” in other countries, are used to transport SNF around the world. In the U.S., SNF transport is regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Design and testing requirements for SNF containers are internationally standardized by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The required tests must be conducted in the following sequence:

1.Free Drop: 30 ft (9 meters) free drop onto an essentially unyielding surface
2. Puncture: 40 in (1 meter) drop onto a 6 in wide (16 centimeter), 8 in (20 centimeter) long steel rod
3.Thermal: exposure to an engulfing fire at 1475°F (800°C) for 30 minutes
4.Immersion – fissile material: Immersion in 3 ft (0.9 meters) of water for 8 hours

These tests equate to the container hitting a concrete highway overpass at high speed (Free Drop test), then falling onto a small rigid structural support (Puncture test), then being involved in a severe and long-lasting fuel fire (Thermal test), and then rolling into a shallow body of water (Immersion test). During and after the tests, the container must contain the nuclear material, limit radiation doses to acceptable levels, and prevent a nuclear chain reaction.

In the video, the structures on the ends of the SNF containers that dent or crush in the tests are called “impact limiters.” They are specifically designed to be crushed to absorb the damage from an accident and protect the SNF container and its contents.

A second, deep-water immersion test must also be conducted on an undamaged SNF container (not as part of the sequence listed above)

5. Immersion – all packages: Immersion in 660 ft (200 meters) of water for 1 hour

An “essentially unyielding surface” is a key element of the drop test. It means that the SNF container absorbs ALL of the force and damage from the impact. For physical tests, an “essentially unyielding surface” generally has to be 10 times the mass of the SNF container. So, a 30 ton SNF container would have to be dropped onto a 300 ton surface, and a 200 ton SNF container would have to be dropped onto a 2,000 ton surface. For this reason, it is common for the SNF container drop tests to now be conducted using computer model simulations.

References: 49 Code of Federal Regulations; 10 Code of Federal Regulations 71.73; 10 Code of Federal Regulations 71.61

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy works with industry and other stakeholders to extend the life cycles of our current fleet of reactors and to develop new technologies that will help meet future environmental and energy goals.

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