A method for evaluating structural transducers used in type B package testing

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) tasked the US Department of Energy (DOE) with establishing and operating a comprehensive, integrated system for disposal of the nations spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste and established the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) within DOE to fulfill that responsibility. A key component of the disposal program is the development and operation of a transportation system to move the waste from its present locations to disposal facilities. A fleet of casks capable of transporting the waste by truck, rail, or barge is being developed. As a result of an agreement between DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), each cask must be certified by the NRC. To meet these requirements, OCRWM is undertaking a program to design, test, certify, and fabricate a variety of cask systems. Design verification tests will be performed by the cask contractor to demonstrate design safety and to aid in cask certification by the NRC. During Type B packaging design verification testing designers may verify analytical calculations with instrumentation data. Many packages are tested with accelerometers and strain gages, collectively known as transducers, that measure structural response. Accelerometers measure acceleration and strain gages measure surface strain at the mounted location. This paper describes a method developed for OCRWM to evaluate various transducers of these two types that have been suggested for use in design verification testing. Typically transducers are characterized by the manufacturer under laboratory conditions. In this program ruggedness, failure frequency, repeatability, and manufacturers data under field and laboratory conditions were investigated