1,1,- 1Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
- 2Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung (BASE)
The search for a suitable long-term disposal site and its construction in Germany will take decades longer than originally assumed. Consequently, the period of storage of heat generating radioactive waste and spent fuel will also take longer and the existing transport and interim storage casks must ensure the safe enclosure of the radioactive inventory for a correspondingly longer period.
In order to maintain the required leak tightness of these casks during interim storage, so-called spring core metal seals with aluminum or silver cladding are used as primary seals. Since these seals are also subjected to ageing effects (e.g. a decrease in sealing force), it must be demonstrated that they can reliably fulfill their sealing function possibly for more than 100 years during extended interim storage, and subsequent transport to the final disposal site. In this context, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) has been conducting long-term tests on metal seals for more than 15 years to generate a database for the assessment of long-term behavior.
The aim of this work is to determine additional material data of such metal seals by means of a newly developed test device for continuous measurement of the compression force as a function of time and temperature. These measurements are accompanied by numerical simulations for the development of advanced lifetime prediction models for the evaluation of the long-term suitability of metal seals. Tests have already been carried out on aluminum and silver seals with a torus diameter of 9.9 mm and 9.7 mm respectively. At the same time, a structural-mechanical analysis of a metal seal at different temperatures was carried out using finite element method (FEM) simulations. In this contribution the design of the test device for continuous force measurement as well as first test and simulation results according to the current state of the project are presented.
This work is a joint project of Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung (BASE) and BAM.
How to cite: Sagradov, I., Jaunich, M., Goral, M., Kandemir, T., Drobniewski, C., and Wolff, D.: Long-term tests and numerical simulations on metal seals based on continuous force measurement in compressed state, Third interdisciplinary research symposium on the safety of nuclear disposal practices, Berlin, Germany, 17–19 Sep 2025, safeND2025-109, https://doi.org/10.5194/safend2025-109, 2025.
