Model testing of heavy spent fuel casks and waste packagings

Testing of models of appropriate scale is allowed by the 1973 IAEA regulations, Section VII, No. 701c. So and due to cost-benefit-analysis and limited capacity of test facilities, model testing of spent fuel casks and waste packagings has become more and more effective in the procedure of approving a packaging design. To verify model laws and scaling, two test series were performed by BAM. The first one with lead cylinders to verify the right scaling of deformation, the second one with rigid steel cylinders to verify the right scaling of forces. Besides this, investigations were made concerning the vibration behavior of lid constructions and the modeling of tightness. In the latter case, considerations were especially made for the tightness due to the geometry and the flow of the respective medium, including the use of different types of gaskets, looking also to the activity leakage rate. Based on these considerations, three test series were carried out by BAM with models of the 100t Biblis packaging (scales: 1/12 and 1/3), the 1/5 scale model of the 32t TN28 waste packaging and the 1/2 scale model of the 32t TN8/9 spent fuel cask (200 m drop test). Besides model considerations, the latter super drop test is intended to lead to a better public acceptance while simulating the most severe impact conditions coming from a truck/train-traffic