The Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) is a senior scientific and technical federal institute with responsibility to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It tests, researches, and advises to protect people, the environment and material goods.
The division of Transport Container Safety is engaged with research, testing and assessment of transport containers for radioactive materials. This includes mechanical and thermal safety verifications and the development of experimental and computational test methods for the analysis of transport containers.
As part of the experimental work, we perform a variety of load tests at our BAM Test Site for Technical Safety (BAM-TTS) close to Berlin. We offer good and close supervision of the work in a scientific environment.
Topic of the Thesis
At the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the department 3.3 "Safety of Transport Containers" deals, among other things, with the topic of heat input and heat dissipation in containers for radioactive waste. The transport processes that take place inside and on the free surface of the containers are diverse and very complex. Heat generation as a phenomenon is generally described by the heat conduction equation and corresponding DIRICHLET, NEUMANN and ROBIN boundary conditions on the free surface. The inner process in an isotropic structure is physically described by conduction and the outer boundary of the transport container is described by two different physical phenomena - thermal radiation and convection. While thermal radiation is clearly defined physically by the STEFAN-BOLTZMANN law, free convection is described empirically in the literature for a wide variety of constellations.
Transport containers must comply with several boundary conditions as part of their approval process, see IAEA regulations. The IAEA regulations specify boundary conditions to which a transport container with radioactive waste may be exposed and must be able to withstand. Three scenarios are usually examined, routine, normal and accident conditions of transport.
A research project aims to analyse the possible influence of E-mobility onto the accident conditions of transport. Large-scale experiments are currently conceptualized to evaluate the heat flux of a fire of a truck equipped with HV-batteries onto the cargo. A custom-made measurement tool, a calorimeter, will be positioned on the loading area during the fire. It is equipped with various thermocouples that allow a concise estimation of the heat flux into the object.
The applicability of the calorimeter for the experiments needs to be evaluated numerically. Possible design changes should be recognized early.
Task of the Thesis
In this thesis, the calorimeter is to be investigated with the aid of the FEM-Software Ansys®. For this purpose, a corresponding model has to be created with the aid of CAD plans. In addition, the sensors of the calorimeter must be analysed and, if necessary, taken into account in the model. With the help of literature research, the corresponding external influences are to be analysed from the experiment and adopted with adequate boundary conditions. Corresponding characteristic values of all components to be considered can be taken from data sheets or must be collected by literature research. In addition to the various dependencies of material properties, boundary conditions and other influences, the comparison with the experimental design is an essential part of the thesis. The measurement results are to be evaluated in a suitable manner.
Agenda
- The thesis can be written in English or German
- Literature research for materials, boundary conditions, modelling, validation
- Creation of a suitable generic model and boundary conditions for validation with experimental test results
- Convergence studies
- Evaluation of the simulation results in connection with the planned experiments
Qualifications:
- Experience in the field of thermodynamics (heat conduction, convection and thermal radiation)
- Knowledge in numerical mathematics
- First hands-on experiences in simulation (modelling, boundary conditions, convergence)
- Useful: Application of the simulation software Ansys®
Contact:
M.Sc. Hannes Soderer, phone: 030 8104-3483, E-Mail: Hannes.Soderer@bam.de
Address:
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
Division 3.3 Safety of Transport Containers
Unter den Eichen 44-46
12203 Berlin