Year
2005
Abstract
In 1978 the first big rail spent fuel cask was tested world-wide in full-scale by BAM. Since then on the BAM drop test site Lehre four big full-scale casks with a mass of 70 – 80 tons have been investigated. BAM constructed in 2004 a new drop test facility that allows drop testing of full-scale spent fuel and HLW casks of the new generation. Since these casks are designed to larger and larger dimensions to improve cost-benefit relations, and since these casks are designed to serve as dual purpose casks for transport und long-term interim storage, the concerns about appropriate testing of those designs include the request for full scale drop testing. BAM actually concentrates it outdoor test facilities on a test center in Horstwalde, 50 km south of Berlin. For that reason also a new drop test facility replacing the old one in Lehre (some 200 km east of Berlin) was needed. Considering the potential need to test big actual full-scale casks we initiated the construction to cover specimen masses up to 200 tons. The main construction features of the new test facilities are: - 36 m high drop tower as steel pipe construction - 200 ton hoist on top of the drop tower, with a maximum hook height of 30 m. - Unyielding target realized by a reinforced concrete block with the dimension 14 m x 14 m x 5 m depth, with a mass of 2,600 tons, and with an impact pad made of anchored steels plates 10 m x 4.5 m x 0.22 m. - A 24 m x 20 m closed test hall below the drop tower with moveable roof and rolling gates. - A 80 ton overhead crane inside the test hall. - A special cask detaching device with a hydraulically mechanism that mechanism that ruptures a steel bolt. The presentation will include the description of the construction details and history as well as videos from the inauguration drop tests with two big rail spent fuel casks on technical tour events during PATRAM 2004. Preliminary results from drop tests with the CONSTOR V/TC (181 tons) and the MHI-MSF 69 BG (141 tons) cask will be presented.