JP4727229B2 - Containers for storage / transport of unirradiated radioactive material such as nuclear fuel assemblies - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container for storage / transport of unirradiated radioactive material such as nuclear fuel assemblies intended for use as an energy source for nuclear power plants.

  Conventionally, unirradiated radioactive material containers are substantially cylindrical or parallelepipedal.

  These containers typically include an outer housing consisting of one or more side surfaces, a fixed bottom, a lid, and one or more protective covers.

  Each of the components of the housing, in particular its side (s), is formed from a single layer or from a multi-layer stack formed of various materials.

  In this regard, if the housing side (s) are in the form of a stack of layers, the housing has an inner end layer generally in the form of a metal plate. Thus, the metal plate (s) can form the inner wall of the housing that defines the cavity and contain the radioactive material within the cavity. The cavity defined by this inner wall is typically substantially cylindrical with a circular cross section. Further, the cavity is defined so as to be completely closed by a fixed bottom portion and a lid portion of the housing respectively disposed at each end portion of the inner wall.

  Unirradiated radioactive material, such as a new nuclear fuel assembly made of a mixture of uranium and plutonium oxide, for example, extends in the longitudinal direction and has a square cross section.

  In order to accurately position these assemblies within the cavity of the container, the container is also typically substantially cylindrical and has a main structure with a circular cross section, which main structure defines a plurality of housings. Each housing can receive at least one fuel assembly. This main structure, also called storage <basket> or <rack>, is designed to be inserted into the cavity in such a way that it is held in place with respect to the housing after insertion into the cavity of the housing.

  The diameter of the main structure is generally substantially the same as the inner diameter of the inner wall of the housing because of the narrowest gap.

  In the most customary solution, the main structure can be in the form of a disc that is stacked or placed on top of each other along the main longitudinal axis of the container. Each of these disks has a plurality of openings. In this regard, a tube designed to receive one or more nuclear fuel assemblies can be passed through each opening when the disc is placed remotely.

  The main structure is also positioned within the housing cavity such that the gap between these two components is zero or nearly zero to ensure sufficient heat exchange between the main structure of the container and the inner wall. The

  When designing such containers, it is necessary to consider the technical needs determined by the requirements of safety standards for the storage / transport of nuclear material.

  Among the tests performed to meet these criteria requirements, various tests such as the so-called <free fall> test must be performed, including the 9m drop test and the destructive test prior to the so-called <fire> test. .

  In order to meet these safety / criticality requirements, the multi-layer stacks that form the enclosure of the container are specifically required for these 9m drop and destructive tests, which should be performed in an order that will incur maximum damage. It has been the subject of many studies to satisfy the sex.

  As one indication, the penetration or perforation test states that the container consists of lifting a container up to 1 meter above a 15 cm diameter steel rod and then dropping it onto the rod under the action of gravity. deep. To pass this test and the 9m drop test, the aim is to reveal that the main structure of the container, i.e. the basket in which the nuclear fuel assemblies are arranged, has not undergone any deformation.

  In known containers according to the prior art, these different requirements are that the inner end layer in contact with the main structure, i.e. the inner wall, in particular the inner wall defining the cavity, is deformed after various tests, more specifically after a penetration test. In other words, there is a need to design a housing that is not done.

  It should also be noted that economical containers are also considered during the design of such containers. This type of container is aimed at increasing the effective load of the container where the maximum weight when loading the fuel assembly is limited by operational constraints. The aim is therefore to propose a technical solution that makes it possible to reduce the weight of the housing as much as possible while satisfying the safety constraints of legal regulations.

  In this regard, if the irradiated fuel assemblies must be transported, the penetration test should not create any design difficulties due to the enormous thickness of the housing side walls that must meet the radiation protection criteria. Please specify. A container designed for carrying irradiated fuel assemblies is described in US Pat. No. 4,800,823. This container has a 30 cm thick steel side wall, which generates very large weight and is intended to store / carry this type of container with unirradiated radioactive material. It should be completely incompatible with the economic containers mentioned above when designing.

  Several solutions have been proposed and attempts have been made to meet all the required technical and economic constraints.

  The first proposal was to design a multi-layer housing, and each layer is intended to contribute towards obtaining a housing that reliably protects the main structure.

  Among these multilayer enclosures, stacks with anti-penetration shielding are known and have three elements superimposed. In order to realize such a stack, these elements are arranged such that the steel outer plate and the inner plate sandwich a refractory layer made of a low compression resistance material that absorbs the energy of the fall.

  Nevertheless, when performing the penetration test, it was observed that the steel outer plate and the inner plate were each drilled and deformed by the steel rod, causing deformation of the main structure in contact with the inner plate. Also, the perforation of the outer plate no longer allows the intermediate layer to remain sealed and thus the critical stack fire resistance, so this solution is not sufficient with respect to enforced legal requirements. Almost unthinkable.

  To address this problem, another stacking type with anti-penetration shielding that superimposes and integrates the five elements has been proposed. This type of wall is further described in French patent application 2790589.

  Among these elements, mention is first made of a steel outer rigid plate, which is in direct contact with a buffer layer that can mitigate the attack caused by the steel rod. A steel or composite intermediate plate is placed under this buffer layer and has low contact with a compressible deformable layer having low compression resistance and possibly fire resistance. Finally, the fifth final element of the protective stack consists of a rigid steel inner plate with high mechanical resistance.

  In a similar manner as described above, the proposed five-layer stack, in particular, this rigid inner plate, which appears to cause deformation of the main structure of the container in direct contact with the inner wall of the rigid inner plate. It was found that due to the deformation of the container, the container could not meet the regulatory standards.

  Therefore, in order to overcome this problem, it has been proposed to increase the size of both integrated plates for both stack types described above.

  However, it has been found that the dimensions that need to be given to both plates in order to pass the penetration test are not necessarily compatible with the maximum weight requirements for the container and this weight limit is imposed by the working container.

  Therefore, the designer of such a container will deform the inner wall of the housing with a view to passing all tests performed to meet the safety requirements of legal regulations on the transport / storage of nuclear material. To avoid this, we are constantly facing the tradeoff between the total weight limitations of the different plates forming the elements of the housing and the sufficient mechanical resistance of these elements.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to store / irradiate unirradiated radioactive material such as a nuclear fuel assembly comprising a main structure and a housing including an inner wall defining a cavity capable of accommodating the main structure. Presenting a shipping container, which overcomes at least some of the various disadvantages described above with prior art solutions.

  More precisely, the object of the present invention is to regulate the storage / transportation of nuclear material while having a reduced total weight with respect to prior art containers in order to comply with increasing operational constraints. It is to provide a container that is designed to meet the safety requirements of.

  To this end, it is an object of the present invention to provide a storage / transport container for unirradiated radioactive material, such as a nuclear fuel assembly, which defines a main structure and a cavity that can accommodate the main structure. And a housing including a wall, wherein the main structure defines a plurality of housings, each housing providing a container capable of receiving at least one fuel assembly. In accordance with the present invention, the container also includes spacer means for separating the main structure from the housing, the spacer means being adapted to permit point deformation of the inner wall of the housing during penetration testing. Direct contact between the two is prevented.

  Advantageously, the special design of the container of the present invention arises from a solution that is quite different from the conventional solutions used in the prior art to design such containers. Because the main condition for meeting the safety requirements of legal regulations on the storage / transportation of nuclear material is to prove that the main structure containing the nuclear material is not damaged after various container drop tests, This technical constraint has always been interpreted as necessary to preserve the integrity of the inner wall of the housing after these various tests.

  However, the present invention provides this by providing a container with an inner wall that can undergo point deformation after mechanical stress applied to the outside of the housing, such as exerted by a steel rod during penetration testing. Achieved away from conventional practice. Since there is no direct contact between the inner wall and the main structure so that this deformation of the inner wall does not damage the main structure of the container, no transfer of deformation can occur.

  Thus, the main structure of the container containing the fuel assembly can remain intact after various drop tests, despite the deformation experienced by the inner wall. As a result, the design of the housing can be simplified considerably.

  This particular design chosen for the container of the present invention that allows deformation of the inner wall of the housing during penetration testing is that this container is formed using a complex stack of overlying layers. This means that it is no longer necessary and can thus be greatly simplified and can undergo a negligible reduction in weight and thickness over the prior art housing.

  The above-mentioned advantages are then rephrased directly as a reduction in container manufacturing costs and as an increase in the number of fuel assemblies that can be confined in each of these containers while meeting existing operational constraints.

  According to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spacer means for the main structure relative to the housing is provided between the main structure and the inner wall of the housing, the spacer means occurring after the penetration test. It has a mechanical safety function so that it deforms during point deformation of the inner wall of the housing. On the other hand, it is pointed out that the spacer means is also designed to resist deformation after mechanical stress experienced during the 9 m drop test and therefore not to undergo deformation.

  In this preferred embodiment, the space provided between the inner wall of the housing and the main structure is at least partly occupied by spacer means to ensure an additional heat transfer function between these elements. It has been. Note that this function is possible because the gap between the spacer means and the main structure is first, and second, the gap between the inner wall of the housing and these same spacer means is zero or small. Should.

  The spacer means is advantageously designed to serve as a mechanical fuse during penetration tests that generally cause point deformation of the inner wall of the housing. Thus, the spacer means is affected by the deformation of the inner wall and is directly deteriorated or aged without transmitting this deformation to the main structure of the container, and the main structure remains completely intact.

  The spacer means is also designed not to deform during a 9 m drop test, in particular during a horizontal drop under the inertia of the main structure loaded with fuel assemblies. Therefore, the spacer means is designed to ensure a sufficient mechanical safety function even when the penetration test is performed following a 9 m drop test.

  The spacer means is preferably composed of a plurality of deformable sectors distributed around the main structure of the container, which sectors extend along all or only part of the length of the main structure of the container. Or stacked on top of each other along a direction parallel to the main longitudinal axis of the container.

  It should be noted that in another variation, the deformable sectors are disposed adjacent to each other to form an elongated strip surrounding the main structure.

  In this preferred first embodiment, although not necessarily important, measures are taken so that the deformable sector is formed of a low compression resistance material such as wood, plastic or honeycomb confined between two metal sheets. Or they may be metallic elements in the form of two concentric sheets separated by a reinforcement.

  In this latter case, the metal element is preferably formed from aluminum or from one of its alloys.

  The deformable sector is fixed in a suitable manner to the main structure of the container and covers the main structure of the container completely or only partially.

  According to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spacer means of the main structure for the housing is provided on the fixed bottom portion and / or the lid portion of the housing, and the inner wall and the main structure of the housing are empty spaces. It is separated by.

  This solution is ultimately most advantageous as long as a relatively lightweight container is obtained due to the absence of material between the inner wall of the housing and the main structure.

  Preferably, for the two preferred embodiments described above, the main structure of the container has a substantially cylindrical shape with a circular cross section, and the inner wall of the housing and the main structure are They are separated by a substantially annular shaped space.

  Other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent in the detailed non-limiting description set forth below.

  This description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a container 1 for storing / transporting unirradiated radioactive material such as a new nuclear fuel assembly (not shown) according to a preferred first embodiment of the present invention can be seen. .

  The container 1 includes a housing 2 and a basket-type main structure 4 that can be accommodated in the housing 2 of the container 1.

  The housing 2 includes a substantially annular side surface 6, a fixed bottom portion 8, a lid portion 10, and two movable protective covers 12 and 14 disposed at the end of the housing 2.

  In this preferred first embodiment according to the invention, the side surface 6 of the housing 2 is single, but obviously consists of several elements added on top of each other without departing from the scope of the invention. It should be noted that

The side surface 6 is composed of an inner cylindrical portion ( inner ferrule ) 16 and an outer cylindrical portion ( outer ferrule ) 18 whose centers coincide with the main longitudinal axis of the container 1, and these cylindrical portions 16 and 18 are reinforced. Separated and held by a body 20, the reinforcement 20 guides heat to pass through a neutron shield ( neutron protector ) 22 disposed between the two cylindrical portions 16 and 18. It also has a function.

The inner cylindrical portion 16 of the side surface 6 of the housing 2 has an inner wall 24 that defines a cavity, and the main structure 4 of the container 1 can be accommodated inside the cavity.

  As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, this main structure 4 in a cylindrical cavity defined by the inner wall 24 comprises a plurality of housings 26, each of which receives a new nuclear fuel assembly. Can do.

  The main structure 4 of the container 1 is preferably of a substantially cylindrical shape with a circular cross section and can be manufactured using known prior art. In this regard, it should be noted that in the illustrated embodiment, the main structure 4 is obtained by a plurality of stacked disks 28 along the main longitudinal axis 19 of the container 1. A plurality of openings formed in each of the disks 28 allows the housing 26 to be defined, and a nuclear fuel assembly can be disposed in the housing 26.

  The container 1 is also provided with spacer means for the main structure 4 with respect to the housing 2, and the spacer means is adapted to enable the point deformation of the inner wall 24 of the housing 2 during a destructive test. Any direct contact between 24 and the main structure 4 is prevented.

  In this preferred first embodiment according to the invention, the spacer means 30 are provided between the main structure 4 and the inner wall 24 of the housing 2, in particular to ensure the heat transfer function between the elements 2 and 4. It has been.

  As can be seen in FIG. 2, the outer diameter of the main structure 4 is smaller than the diameter of the inner wall 24 and this special design of the container 1 forms a substantially annular space, whose Spacer means 30 can be accommodated inside. This special arrangement of the spacer means 30 then allows these means to perform a mechanical safety function that allows point deformation of the inner wall 24 of the housing 2. This function will be described in detail below.

  2 to 4, it can be seen that the spacer means 30 consists of a plurality of deformable sectors 32 distributed around the main structure 4, which are screwed onto them. preferable.

  Referring to FIG. 4, which is intended to better understand the various arrangement possibilities of the sector 32, the sector is first substantially along the entire length of the main structure 4, as indicated by the strip 34. It may extend. The deformable sectors 32 can also be stacked on top of each other in a direction parallel to the main longitudinal axis 19 of the container 1, as shown as elongated strips 36.

  Also, in addition to the possibility of providing the deformable elongated strips 34, 36 of the sector 32 along substantially the entire length of the main structure 4, one or more sectors covering only a part of the length of the main structure 4 It is also possible to form an elongated strip 38 of 32.

  Finally, the deformable sectors 32 may be arranged adjacent to each other so as to form an annular strip (not shown) that surrounds the main structure 4 and is distributed along the entire length of the main structure 4. it can.

  Therefore, as shown in the figure, the diversity of the arrangement of the deformable sectors 32 with respect to the main structure 4 is very high, and a cover of all or part of the main structure 4 of the container 1 can be provided.

  In this regard, the arrangement of the sectors 32 with respect to the main structure can be appropriately selected to best meet the weight and mechanical constraints that the container 1 must comply with.

  According to a non-limiting example described for illustration only, the outer diameter of the side 6 of the housing 2 is approximately 1400 mm and the inner diameter is approximately 1000 mm. The annular space provided between the inner wall 24 and the main structure 24 has a thickness of approximately 30 to 35 mm, like the deformable sector 32 in contact with the two elements 4 and 24.

  According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, each deformable sector 32 consists of a metal element, preferably made of aluminum or one of its alloys, This element takes the form of two concentric sheets 40 and 42 having the same axis as the main longitudinal axis 19 of the container 1, the sheets 40 and 42 being separated by a reinforcement 44 (FIG. 3). . The metal elements forming the deformable sector 32 are preferably extruded, but can be made by mechanical welding or by any other conventional technique without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that portions in the form of sheets 40 and 42 are in contact with the main structure 4 and the inner wall 24, respectively. Again preferably, each of the elements 40, 42 and 44 has a thickness that is approximately half the thickness of the inner cylindrical portion 16.

  Each reinforcement 44 extends along the entire length of portions in the form of sheets 40 and 42 and is inclined with respect to a radius of a concentric circle with respect to portions in the form of sheets 40 and 42. Moreover, since the reinforcement body 44 is arrange | positioned so that two continuous reinforcement bodies 44 may incline in the opposite direction, they are the phase opposite. As a non-limiting example, the angle of inclination of the reinforcement can be in the range of + 20 ° to −20 °.

  The deformable sector 32 can obviously take any other form, and the sector can space the main structure 4 from the housing 2 and perform the mechanical safety function described above. Can be made of other materials as much as possible. Again, as a non-limiting example, the deformable sector 32 may or may not be confined between materials with low compression resistance, such as plastic foam, honeycomb, or two metal sheets. It can be made from wood like good balsa wood.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the mechanical behavior of the container 1 during a penetration test as performed for safety tests according to legal regulations on the transport / storage of nuclear material will be described. It should be noted that this description has been made for a deformable sector 32 of the metal element type shown in FIG. However, if the spacer means 30 performs a mechanical safety function between the main structure 4 and the inner wall 24 of the housing 2, the behavior of the container 1 is determined by these means 30 inserted between the two elements 2 and 4. Note that it remains the same regardless of the format.

When the housing 2 of the container 2 comes into contact with a steel rod 46 having a diameter of approximately 150 mm, this rod 46 creates a large local mechanical stress on the housing 2, so that the side surface 6 faces the steel rod 46. It is deformed over its entire thickness in the area where it lies. It should be noted that the housing 2 is preferably designed so that the inner cylindrical portion 16 of the housing 2 is deformed but not perforated after the penetration test described above.

In this way, the inner cylindrical part 16 of the housing 2 penetrates at the axis 19 inside the annular space initially occupied between the main structure 4 and the inner wall 24 of the container 1 and occupied by the spacer means 30. When deformed.

  The deformable sector 32 of the spacer means 30 arranged opposite to the deformation of the inner wall 24 then deteriorates immediately following the impact on the inner wall 24 without transmitting this deformation to the main structure 4 of the container 1. By doing so, it performs a mechanical safety function. Further, the deformation of the inner wall 24 occurs as if there is no element between the main structure 4 and the inner wall 24. The sector 32 is designed so that the energy of deformation is negligible in spite of the energy that is absorbed by the point deformation of the side surface 6 of the housing 2 and falls to the steel rod 46.

  In the case shown in FIG. 5, the sheet-shaped portion 42 is deformed due to the deformation of the inner wall 24. In addition, since the reinforcing body 44 (one or more) in the immediate vicinity of the deformation is also deteriorated, the deformation of the inner wall 24 is not transmitted to the main structure 4 of the container 1.

  The deformable sector 32 does not necessarily follow the contour of the entire surface of the inner wall 24, so that the deformation of the inner wall 24 is located in an area that does not have the spacer means 30 and therefore does not have the deformable sector 32. It is estimated that the case will happen. The inner wall 24 is then just deformed within the space of the annular space formed between the elements 2 and 4, the amount of deformation being again deformable due to the main mechanical safety function of these sectors. This is substantially the same as that obtained before the new sector 32.

  Thus, the spacer means 30 of the container 1 allows point deformation of the inner wall 24 and the magnitude of this deformation is limited by the initial thickness of the space between the inner wall 24 and the main structure 4 so that the wall 24 The main structure 4 of 1 is not directly hit. During the design of the container 1 for the particular structure of the housing 2, the thickness of the annular space is the maximum of the inner wall 24 caused by the steel rod 46 under similar stress conditions encountered during legal regulatory testing. The deformation can be determined, for example, to match this thickness.

  Finally, preferably the spacer means 30 is also subjected to mechanical stress due to the considerable inertia of the main structure 4 that occurs during the fall of 9 m, in particular during the horizontal fall that does not normally lead to deformation of the side face 6 of the housing 2. It is advantageous to be designed to withstand overall.

  6 and 7, a container 100 for storing / transporting unirradiated radioactive material such as a new nuclear fuel assembly (not shown) according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is partially shown. It is shown. In these figures, elements having the same reference numerals as those representing the elements shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 correspond to the same or similar elements.

  In this preferred second embodiment of the invention, only the spacer means 130 that separates the main structure 4 from the housing 2 is different with respect to the preferred first embodiment. Accordingly, the other elements of the container 100 are the same as or similar to those of the container 1 according to the preferred first embodiment described above.

  The annular space provided between the main structure 4 and the inner wall 24 is no longer partly or entirely occupied by the deformable sector 32 of the first embodiment, but during the penetration test The empty space 150 prevents any direct contact between the inner wall 24 and the main structure 4 to allow the inner wall 24 of the housing 2 to be point deformed.

  In this preferred second embodiment, the spacer means 130 is provided on the fixed bottom 8 or lid 10 of the housing 2 or preferably on both. These spacer means 130 thus make it possible to align the main structure 4 with the main longitudinal axis 19 of the container 100 so as to obtain an annular empty space 150 of substantially constant thickness.

  As can be seen from FIG. 6, the spacer means 130 is provided, for example, on the fixed bottom portion 8 and the lid portion 10 and includes a plurality of centering means 152 oriented inward of the container 100 (the lid portion 10 and Only the integrated centering means 152 is shown). Since each centering means 152 is arranged along the same axis as the axis of the housing 26 of the main structure 4, the centering means can enter this same housing 26. In this way, the centering means 152 provided on the fixed bottom portion 8 and the lid portion 10 of the housing 2 provides lateral support to the main structure 4 and puts it in place with respect to the inner wall 24 of the container 100. Can be held. By providing several centering means 152 in cooperation with the housing 26 in this way, the main structure 4 of the container 100 is attached to the housing 2 when the lid 10 is assembled on the side surface 6 of the housing 2. It can be kept in a state of alignment.

  Obviously, in this preferred second embodiment, any other spacer means 130 may be used primarily for the main structure 4 and secondly for the fixed bottom 8 of the housing 2 and / or without departing from the scope of the present invention. It can be considered that it is between the lid 10.

  It should also be noted that during the penetration test, the behavior of the container 100 is similar to that described above for the container 1 in the preferred first embodiment of the present invention.

  The inner wall 24 of the container 100 has an annular shape formed between the elements 2 and 4 as is encountered in the first preferred embodiment where the deformation of the inner wall 24 is in an area without the spacer means 30. The space 150 is simply deformed and its size is substantially the same as that obtained in front of the spacer means with mechanical safety means inserted between the inner wall 24 and the main structure 4. It is.

  Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the unirradiated radioactive material storage / transport containers 1 and 100, which have been described solely as non-limiting examples.

1 is a perspective view of a container for storing / transporting unirradiated nuclear fuel according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the container of FIG. 1 along a plane perpendicular to the main longitudinal axis of the container. 2 is a perspective view of a deformable sector as used in the spacer means of the container shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main structure of the container shown in FIG. 1 with a plurality of deformable sectors. It is a schematic sectional drawing explaining the behavior of a container as shown in FIG. 1 after performing a penetration test. FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of a container for storing / transporting unirradiated nuclear material according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the container shown in FIG. 6 along a plane perpendicular to the main longitudinal axis of the container.

Claims (15)

A container (1) for storing / transporting unirradiated radioactive material,
Main structure (4);
A housing (2) including an inner cylindrical part (16) and a neutron shield (22) provided on the outer diameter side of the inner cylindrical part (16),
The inner cylindrical portion (16) includes an inner wall (24) defining a cavity capable of accommodating the main structure (4);
The main structure defines a plurality of housings (26), each housing capable of receiving at least one radioactive substance;
Spacer means (30) for separating the main structure (4) from the housing (2) is provided between the main structure (4) and the inner wall (24),
When the inner wall (24) is deformed, the spacer means (30) is deformable and has a mechanical safety function to prevent direct contact between the inner wall (24) and the main structure (4). Yusuke that container (1). The housing (2) includes an outer cylindrical portion (18), and the neutron shield (22) is disposed between the inner cylindrical portion (16) and the outer cylindrical portion (18). (1).   Container (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacer means (30) is fixed to the main structure (4).   A container (1) according to claim 3, wherein the spacer means (30) are composed of a plurality of deformable sectors (32) distributed around the main structure (4).   The container (1) according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the deformable sectors (32) extends along substantially the entire length of the main structure (4).   6. At least two of said deformable sectors (32) are overlaid on top of each other in a direction parallel to the main longitudinal axis (19) of said container (1). Container (1). A container (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein at least one of the deformable sectors (32) is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of wood, plastic and honeycomb .   The at least one deformable sector (32) is a metal element in the form of two concentric sheets (40, 42) separated by a reinforcement (44). Container (1) as described. The reinforcing body (44) is inclined with respect to the radius of a concentric circle with respect to the sheet (40, 42), and two continuous reinforcing bodies (44) are arranged to be inclined in opposite directions. A container (1) according to claim 8 . 10. Container (1) according to claim 8 or 9 , wherein the metal element is formed from aluminum or from one of an aluminum alloy. A container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein the spacer means (30) completely covers the main structure (4). A container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein the spacer means (30) only partially covers the main structure (4). The container (1, 100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12 , wherein the main structure (4) has a substantially cylindrical shape with a circular cross section. The inner wall (24) and said main structure (4), the container according to any one of claims 1 to 1 3 are separated by a space of generally annular shape (1). Said inner cylindrical portion (16) and said outer cylindrical portion (18) A container according to any one of claims 1 to 1 4 via the reinforcing member (20) are held apart from each other (1) .

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