Evaluation of Long-term Performance of Metal Seal Through Accelerated Test

Metal seals are the main components that establish the containment boundary in bolted casks, which store spent nuclear fuel. These seals are degraded by heat and radiation. In addition, creep occurs when the seals are exposed to intense heat for an extended period. This creep results in the stress relaxation of the seals, which consequently impairs the seal integrity. The stress relaxation can reduce the sealing performance of the metal seal, which can further cause leakage in the storage cask. Moreover, the reduction of bolt tension leads to sealing performance degradation. In this study, the results of high-temperature-accelerated tests were obtained to evaluate the containment integrity of metal seals and the decrease in bolt tension. During the tests, the leakage rate, bolt strain, and ambient temperature of the metal seals were measured and analyzed. The metal seals were found to maintain containment integrity for 50 years of storage. The validity of the acceleration test was also investigated