Crush testing of 9977 General Purpose Fissile Packagings

Abstract

The 9977 General Purpose Fissile Package (GPFP) was designed in response to the adoption of the IAEA crush test requirement in the US regulations for packages for radioactive materials (10 CFR 71). This presentation on crush testing of the 9977 GPFP reviews origins of the crush test requirements and implementation of those requirements in 10 CFR 71. Testing at Sandia National Laboratories performed to support the rule making is reviewed. The differences in practice, on the part of the US Department of Energy from those required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for commercial purposes, are explained. The design features incorporated into the 9977 GPFP to enable it to withstand the crush test and the crush tests performed on the 9977 are described. Lessons learned from crush testing of GPFP packagings are given.

Keywords:

• Crush test
• Radioactive materials packaging
• General purpose fissile package

This document was prepared in conjunction with work accomplished under contract no. DE-AC09-08SR22470 with the US Department of Energy.