Sandia’s Spent Nuclear Fuel Assembly Drop Test

One of the goals of Sandia’s Spent Fuel Waste Disposition Program, funding by the Department of Energy, is to ensure that the fuel will retain its integrity during normal conditions of transport.
SAND2023-13713V

[@MitzvosGolem1]

I loaded these casks for DOE in 1997 with 150 ton Grove crane from BNL HFBR decommission project. 30 tons had to lay them down on semi trailer on hinges from vertical. . Excellent safety and operation. Thank you .

[@ericdanielski4802]

Nice video.

[@kiergsmith]

OK, at 5:44 in the video I see one of the team in safety shoes, a hard hat and gloves extracting the witness paper. But my inner JH&SC voice is wondering what the other team member is doing on the floor with such, um, inappropriate footwear?

[@josephastier7421]

Someone lost a bet and had to wear the Cruel Shoes for a day.

[@David.-_-]

Cool. What is this for exactly? Transport safety?

[@definitelynotafish2162]

It’s for making sure nothing breaks or bends during transport. So basically transport safety

[@qcislander]

@definitelynotafish2162 Not just "transport safety", which most people will take as "is moving the thing from place to place safe"... but the finer point: "transport-accident safety", which means "if we drop it before or after 'actual transport from place to place (say while loading it onto a trailer-bed), how large a drop can it safely withstand". 30cm is a hair less that a foot... and while "safe-in-testing", the deformation of support in a drop of less than a foot is... marginal. I'd like to see the data on 50 such drop-tests... then the data from 2 or 3 drop-tests from 40cm (about 16 inches). I'm not worried at all about possible criticality unless the drop is a couple of meters (say, 6 feet)... I'm just wondering now much heat is the freshly "reconfigured" rod-package is likely to generate before someone rescues the whole thing to prevent it becoming a hazard.

[@josephastier7421]

We have to drop test our fuel assemblies ever since the "Dave incident".

[@iitzfizz]

Drop and run?

[@GoAwayStupidAI]

Great details 👍