Drop Tests of Type-R Packaging Under -40° C Conditions

The 1985 edition of the IAEA regulations(IAEA 1985) for the safe transport of radioactive material has invalidated the previously approved fresh fuel packages that were designed as Type-AF. As a result of the invalidation of these packagings, a new JRF-90Y-950K packaging was designed as Type-B(U)F and two packagings of the new design were fabricated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,Ltd. As a part of the package design process, two full-scale tests were performed to obtain data on the response of the full-scale system, and to verify the validation of the safety analysis. In the first drop tests, one test packaging cooled down to -40oC was tested, hereafter referred to as 'the cold tests', to give the maximum impact loads. Another purpose of the cold tests was to confirm the integrity of components ( seal, closure bolts, welds ) that cannot be evaluated completely by analyses. In the second drop tests, the other one was tested under accident conditions that gave maximum damage to the package as an initial condition for the thermal analysis. All test results were fully satisfied.