Structural analyses of the storage container for heavy element facility, building-251

Abstract

The Heavy Element Facility, Building 251, contains a series of underground storage vaults which are used for long term storage of nuclear materials. A storage rack with shelves is suspended from the top of each storage vault. The stainless steel containers enclosing the nuclear materials are stored on the shelves. A Hazard & Accident assessment analyzed the vulnerability of this storage system to assaults resulting from natural phenomena and accidents within the building. The assessment considered all racks and their containers to be stored underground and secured in their static, long-term configuration. Moving beyond the static, long-term hazard assessment, the structural analyses were performed to evaluate the storage container against a rare, short duration event. An accidental free drop of a container may occur in a combination of two events: a rare, short-duration earthquake concurrent with an operation of raising the storage rack to a maximum height that the crane is capable of. This hypothetical free drop may occur only to the container in the uppermost shelf of the storage rack. The analyses were the structural evaluation of the storage container to determine the material containment integrity of the storage container after the accident. The evaluation was performed simulating a free drop from the storage rack, with a maximum load in the container, striking/an unyielding surface in the worst orientation. The analyses revealed that, in the very unlikely event of a container drop, the integrity of the hermetic seal of the storage container could be compromised due to plastic deformation of the lid and mating flange. Simple engineering and administrative controls can prevent that from occurring.