Shock Environments for the Nuclear Fuel Transportation System (Transportation Platform, Cask, Basket, and Surrogate Assemblies) during Rail Transport

In 2017 a team from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) conducted an international 8-month, 9,400-mile test to simulate transportation scenarios for spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The purpose of this project was to quantify the shocks and vibrations environments during normal conditions of transport. SNL conducted this test in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and ENSA (nuclear equipment global supplier). It involved coordination with an international shipping company (COORDINADORA), Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), the Association of American Railroads (AAR), and Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI). Testing was performed using an ENSA ENUN 32P cask. An instrumented transportation cask containing surrogate fuel assemblies from the US, Spain and Korea was transported by truck in Spain, by barge to Belgium, by ship to Baltimore, and by rail to Colorado for rail tests at TTCI and back to Baltimore by rail. Six terabytes of data were collected over the 54-day, 7-country, 12-state, 9,400 miles of travel. For the first time, strains and accelerations were measured directly on the surrogate nuclear fuel assemblies and on the basket. The accelerations were measured on the cask, cradle, and transportation platform. A total of 40 accelerometers and 37 strain gauges were used. The analysis of the transportation test data was performed in 2018. This paper presents the results of the rail transport. The other results are presented in the three related PATRAM 2019 papers. The dedicated rail transport covers a 1,950-mile route from the Port of Baltimore (Maryland) to Pueblo, Colorado. The Kasgro 12-axels railcar was used. The trip took approximately 6 days, during which the train was moving 59 hours. A total of 2,939 shock events were identified along the rail route. The major events were related to track switches (629) and grade crossings (1,029). The return rail shipment was on a non-dedicated train. The data collection stopped after 18 days near St. Louis, Illinois, yielding a 1,125-mile route. This route provided a valuable opportunity for considering coupling events. Thirty coupling events were identified and analyzed. Only one coupling event was observed on the route to Pueblo, Colorado.