Dynamic Analysis of Hanford Unirradiated Fuel Package Subjected to Sequential Lateral Loads in Hypothetical Accident Conditions

Abstract

Large fuel casks present challenges when evaluating their performance in the Hypothetical Accident Conditions (HAC) specified in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 10 part 71 (10CFR71). Testing is often limited by cost, difficulty in preparing test units and the limited availability of facilities which can carry out such tests. In the past, many casks were evaluated without testing by using simplified analytical methods. This paper presents a numerical technique for evaluating the dynamic responses of large fuel casks subjected to sequential HAC loading. A nonlinear dynamic analysis was performed for a Hanford Unirradiated Fuel Package (HUFP) [1] to evaluate the cumulative damage after the hypothetical accident Conditions of a 30-foot lateral drop followed by a 40-inch lateral puncture as specified in 10CFR71. The structural integrity of the containment vessel is justified based on the analytical results in comparison with the stress criteria, specified in the ASME Code, Section III, Appendix F [2], for Level D service loads. The analyzed cumulative damages caused by the sequential loading of a 30-foot lateral drop and a 40-inch lateral puncture are compared with the package test data. The analytical results are in good agreement with the test results.