Testing of the Structural Evaluation Test Unit*

In the evaluation of the safety of radioactive material transportation it is important to consider the response of Type B packages to environments more severe than that prescribed by the hypothetical accident sequence in Title 10 Part 71 of the Code of Federal Regulations (NRC 1995). The impact event in this sequence is a 9-meter drop onto an essentially unyielding target, resulting in an impact velocity of 13.4 rnls. The behavior of packages when subjected to impacts more severe than this is not well known. It is the purpose of this program to evaluate the structural response of a test package to these environments. Several types of structural response are considered. Of primary importance is the behavior of the package containment boundary, including the bolted closure and 0- rings. Other areas of concern are loss of shielding capability due to lead slump and the deceleration loading of package contents, that may cause damage to them. This type of information is essential for conducting accurate risk assessments on the transportation of radioactive materials. Currently, very conservative estimates of the loss of package protection are used in these assessments. This paper will summarize the results of a regulatory impact test and three extra-regulatory impact tests on a sample package.