Thermal Design and Verification of a Transport Container for Co-60 Waste Source

Abstract

The thermal protection performance of the transport container should be considered when designing the radioactive waste source transport container with higher decay heat. The temperature distribution of the container under the normal conditions of transport for heat transfer performance and accident conditions for thermal performance are analyzed and calculated using the finite element analysis method, and the verification test is carried out. Both analysis and test results show that under normal conditions, the container can export the decay heat from the radiation source, and the container can be used in a non-exclusive manner for an accessible surface temperature of less than 50°C. Moreover, under accident conditions, it can effectively prevent the external heat from the fire environment so that the temperature of shielding parts of the container is lower than 327°C, which is the melting point of lead, and ensure the shielding performance is not lost. Its thermal performance meets the relevant requirements of standards and design.