• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 1996

This paper presents a new approach for assessing accident management strategies using containment event trees (CETs) developed during an individual plant examination (IPE) for a reference plant (CE type, 950 MWe PWR). Various accident management strategies to reduce risk have been proposed through IPE. Three strategies for the station blackout sequence are used as an example : 1) reactor cavity flooding only, 2) primary system depressurization only, and 3) doing both. These strategies are assumed to be initiated at about the time of core uncovery. The station blackout (SBO) sequence is selected in this paper since it is identified as one of the most threatening sequences to safety of the reference plant. The effectiveness and adverse effects of each accident management strategy are considered synthetically in the CETs. A best estimate assessment for the developed CETs using data obtained from NUREG-1150, other PRA results, and the MAAP code calculations is performed. The strategies are ranked with respect to minimizing the frequencies of Various containment failure modes. The proposed approach is demonstrated to be very flexible in that it can be applied to any kind of accident management strategy for any sequence.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.411-418
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• 2003

This paper presents the results of experimental studies on the equipment isolation effect in the nuclear containment. for this Purpose, shaking table tests were performed. The natural rubber bearing (NRB) and high damping rubber bearing (HDRB) were selected for the isolation. Peak ground acceleration, damping characteristics of isolation system and frequency contents of selected earthquake motions were considered. finally, it is presented that the NRB and HDRB systems are effective for the small equipment isolation and the damping of isolation systems can be affected to the seismic isolation effect.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.53-67
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• 1985

The severe core meltdown accident, which is not included as a design basis accident, has high consequence and low probability of occurrence and turns out to be a major risk factor in the overall risk assessment. The physical mechanisms of containment failure in core meltdown accidents are identified as steam explosion, debris bed coolability, hydrogen burning, steam spike and concrete interaction. The state of technology review is made for each subtopic about the previous and current researches for better understanding of the phenomenon.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.2156-2172
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• 2022

This paper investigates the optimum fiber reinforcement for prestressed concrete containment vessels (PCCVs) under internal pressure. To achieve this aim, steel fiber, which is the most widely used fiber type in current engineering applications, is adopted to constitute steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) to substitute the conventional concrete in the PCCV. The effects of characteristic parameters, 𝜆_sf, of the steel fiber affecting significantly the mechanical behavior of the concrete are first taken into account. Partial or complete concrete regions of the PCCV are also considered to be replaced by SFRC to balance the economy and safety. By adopting the ABAQUS software, the ultimate bearing capacity and performance for the fiber-reinforced PCCV are scientifically studied and quantified, and the recommendations for the optimum way of fiber reinforcement are presented.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.335-342
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• 1998

A soil-structure interaction (SSI) experiment is being conducted in a seismically active region in Hualien, Taiwan. To obtain earthquake data for quantifying SSI effects and providing a basis to benchmark analysis methods, a 1/4-th scale cylindrical concrete containment model similar in shape to that of a nuclear power plant containment was constructed in the field where both the containment model and its surrounding soil, surface and sub-surface, are extensively instrumented to record earthquake data. In between September 1993 and May 1996, fifteen earthquakes with Richter magnitudes ranging from 4.2 to 6.2 were recorded. The recorded data were analyzed to provide information on the response characteristics of the Hualien soil-structure system, the SSI effects and the ground motion characteristics. The ground response data were analyzed for their variations with depth, with distance from the model structure, and at the same depths along downhole arrays. Variations of soil stiffness and soil-structure system frequencies were also evaluated against maximum ground motion. In addition, the site soil properties were derived based on correlation analysis of the recorded data and then correlated with those from the geotechnical investigation data.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.597-604
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• 2006

The seismic safety of the prestressed concrete containment building was evaluated by the seismic fragility analysis based on the nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses. Four kinds of earthquake ground motions were used for the seismic fragility analysis of the containment building to consider the potential earthquake hazard. The conventional seismic fragility analysis of the safety related structures in nuclear pouter plant have been performed by using the linear elastic analysis results for the seismic design. In this study, the displacement based seismic fragility analysis method was proposed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2005

From measured results of the neutron fields at some principal places within the containment building in a CE type nuclear power plant in operation, the radiation exposure of a worker to the neutron at there was evaluated and the equivalent dose reflecting new recommendation (ICRP 60) was compared with that doing the old one (ICRP 26). The measured neutron field was also compared with calibration neutron field. From the analysis, the following conclusion was obtained: the average neutron radiation weighting factor according to new recommendation is 2.41 to 2.71 times higher than the old one. The average neutorn radiation weighting factor at the measured place was similar to that at calibration neutron field. The average neutron energy at measured place was between 42 and 158 keV and higher than that of calibration field of 500 keV. So, the measured equivalent dose in nuclear power plant could be overestimated compared to the real equivalent dose.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.2_spc
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• pp.237-245
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• 2020

Metal seals are the main components that establish the containment boundary in bolted casks, which store spent nuclear fuel. These seals are degraded by heat and radiation. In addition, creep occurs when the seals are exposed to intense heat for an extended period. This creep results in the stress relaxation of the seals, which consequently impairs the seal integrity. The stress relaxation can reduce the sealing performance of the metal seal, which can further cause leakage in the storage cask. Moreover, the reduction of bolt tension leads to sealing performance degradation. In this study, the results of high-temperature-accelerated tests were obtained to evaluate the containment integrity of metal seals and the decrease in bolt tension. During the tests, the leakage rate, bolt strain, and ambient temperature of the metal seals were measured and analyzed. The metal seals were found to maintain containment integrity for 50 years of storage. The validity of the acceleration test was also investigated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2018.11a
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• pp.444-445
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• 2018

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.403-414
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• 1994

Nonlinear analysis of RC containment structure under thermal load and pressure is presented to trace the behaviour after an assumed LOCA. The temperature distribution varying with time through the wall thickness is determined by transient finite element analysis with the two time level scheme in time domain. The layered shell finite elements are used to represent the containment structures in nuclear power plants. Both geometric and material nonlinearities are taken into account in the finite element formulation. The constitutive relation of concrete is modeled according to Drucker-Prager yield criteria in compression. Tension stiffening model is used to represent the tensile behaviour of concrete including bond effect. The reinforcing bars are modeled by smeared layer at the location of reinforcements accounting elasto-plastic axial behaviors. The steel liner model under Von Mises yield criteria is adopted to represent elastic-perfect plastic behaviour. Geometric nonlinearity is formulated to consider the large displacement effect. Thermal stress components are determined by the initial strain concept during each time step. The temperature differential between any two consecutive time steps is considered as a load incremental. The numerical results from this study reveal that nonlinear temperature gradient based on transient thermal analysis will produces excessive large displacement. Nonlinear behavior of containment structures up to ultimate stage can be traced reallistically. The present study allows more realistic analysis of concrete containment structures in nuclear power plants.