Structural integrity of KJRR-F fresh nuclear fuel under vehicle-induced vibration for normal transport condition

Abstract

Nuclear fuel, including its fresh state, must be handled safely due to its critical and hazardous nature. Under normal transport conditions, several interactions take place among different components, such as transport cask used for loading the nuclear fuel and tie-down structure to attach with the vehicle. To ensure structural integrity of the nuclear fuel, vibrations and impacts transmitted from the vehicle must be sufficiently reduced. Therefore, in this study, we conducted two transportation tests from Daejeon to Kijang in Korea to verify the vehicle-induced vibrational characteristics of the KJRR-F fresh nuclear fuel when transported under normal transport conditions. The speed and location of the vehicle were obtained via GPS, and the accelerations between the vehicle and the KJRR-F fresh nuclear fuel were measured. Additionally, using the acceleration results, a structural analysis was conducted to confirm the structural integrity of the nuclear fuel under the most severe conditions during normal transport.