Spent Fuel Cask Seal Performance Testing: Interim Report (NIST TN 1687)

Published

January 31, 2011

Author(s)

Jiann C. Yang, Edward J. Hnetkovsky

Abstract

High-temperature metallic seal performance tests were performed. All the tests were conducted at either 800 °C or 427 °C for 9 hours in a electrical furnace. In the three repeated tests under similar beyond-design-basis thermal exposure conditions of 9-hour heating at nominal 800 °C, the metallic seal could not maintain vessel pressure. The times when the vessels started to lose pressure (i.e., to leak) and the leakage rates varied widely in the three tests performed. When tested at its stated maximum operating temperature of 427 °C for 9 h, the seal did maintain vessel pressure when a brand new test vessel and a refurbished vessel which had previously been thermally exposed at 800 °C for 30 min were used. However, a very slow leak appeared to occur in the test using a refurbished vessel which had previously been exposed for 9 h at 800 °C.

Citation

Technical Note (NIST TN) - 1687

Report Number

1687

NIST Pub Series

Technical Note (NIST TN)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

Leak rates, seals, testing, thermal exposure

Citation

Yang, J. and Hnetkovsky, E. (2011), Spent Fuel Cask Seal Performance Testing: Interim Report (NIST TN 1687), Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=907414 (Accessed October 7, 2025)