Over-the-road testing of radioactive materials packagings

Sandia National Laboratories has an ongoing program to characterize the environments encountered during normal surface transport of radioactive materials. This effort consists of obtaining experimental data from both road simulator and over-the-road tests and of analyzing the dam to obtain numerical models to simulate those environments. These data and models have been used to define the design basis for resistance to shock and vibration and the requirements for tiedowns of truck-transported radioactive materials. This work is in conjunction with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards development for radioactive materials transport. This paper summarizes the data from a series of over-the-road tests performed with Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. equipment near Barnwell, South Carolina. The data include packaging responses to driving over various road types as well as measurements of packaging and trailer responses to hard braking and turning events. The data also include the responses of both flexible and rigid tiedown systems. The results indicate that the tiedown forces for these tests were less than 0.06 g based on packaging weight