Ductile Cast Iron (DCI)-Progress on Research Activities on Fracture Mechanics

Designing systems for transporting radioactive material (RAM) has gained Increasing importance as the need for transporting and storage of RAM has Increased. As a result, significant applied research efforts are underway to develop new generation transportation casks which are more efficient than past designs and maintain the same or higher levels of safety. Many of these efforts focused on qualifying Ductile Cast Iron (OCt) as a suitable material for use as the containment boundary In transportation and storage casks. In Western Europe, the acceptance and licensing of DCI has been attained and OCt transport casks are In use throughout Europe. The basts of the acceptance rests on numerous proof tests by BAM which have demonstrated the material Integrity. Totally, 44 9 m-drop tests with OCt-prototypes up to 90 t were performed according to the IAEA test conditions. The ability to transfer results obtained from the drop tests of prototypes to the serial casks Is ensured by combining a nurmer of quality and compliance assurance measures.