Drop tests, which simulate severe accidents during transport, must maintain the integrity of the casks and demonstrate compliance with leak tightness and radiation shielding limits.
GNS's CASTOR®, CONSTOR® and POLLUX® casks have been used to perform the most drop tests of this type of cask in the world.
These include, for example:
The first 1:1 drop test worldwide - performed by GNS.
Approx. 100 drop tests from a height of 9 meters onto an unyielding foundation, of which approx. 40 % involved full-size casks
Drop tests with casks cooled down to minus 40° C from a height of 9 meters onto an unyielding foundation
Drop tests with a cask with an artificial fault in the maximum load zone
Various drop tests from a height of 1 meter onto a 15 cm thick steel spike. Attention is paid to particularly sensitive areas, such as the connections in the lid system.
Test results
All tests have shown that the casks meet all requirements even under extreme loads.
