AN EVALUATION OF THE USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM AS A STRUCTURAL COMPONENT FOR TRANSPORT CASKS

Depleted uranium (DU) alloys are currently used for gamma-ray shieldin g in casks and as shielding blocks. For the transport cask application , a significant weight and dimensional penalty exists when using the D U solely for shielding. If credit could be taken for the structural us e of the DU for containment in a transport cask, greater payloads may be realized. Mechanical property measurements of several uranium alloy s and finite element analyses of prototype transport casks assumed to be constructed, in part, from selected uranium materials were performe d to evaluate the potential for the use of DU alloys for cask containm ent. These data and analyses support the concept of the use of DU allo ys for the containment function even under hypothetical accident condi tions. A conclusion is that the properties of certain DU alloys are th erefore sufficient to warrant further consideration of the material fo r this purpose.