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U.S. Department of Energy
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Seismic response study for base-isolated CANDU 3

Conference ·
OSTI ID:170347
;  [1]
  1. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada). Civil Engineering Branch
The design of the CANDU 3 nuclear power plant rated at 450 MW of net output power is being developed by AECL. During the development of the CANDU 3 design, various design options including the use of seismic isolator bearings are considered to mitigate effects of seismic loads. The current design of CANDU 3 is of fixed-base construction. However, analytical studies are undertaken to determine the effects of using seismic isolation. This paper presents a study of the benefits of using seismic isolator bearings for the CANDU 3 nuclear power plant. To base-isolate the CANDU 3 plant, the reactor and other safety-related buildings would be located on a common mat isolated from the foundation with the use of elastomeric bearings. Seismic analyses are performed to predict the behavior of the structures. A mathematical model consisting of lumped masses and beams to represent different buildings of the CANDU 3 plant is considered in the analysis. The model considers the nonlinear characteristics of the elastomeric bearing. Nonlinear time-history analyses are performed to determine the seismic responses. The acceleration, displacement and floor response spectra of different buildings are determined for both the fixed-base and base-isolated cases. The results show that the use of seismic isolation would reduce the acceleration responses of the buildings significantly. However, the displacement responses of the buildings would be increased which would require special considerations for interconnected systems. Moreover, it is shown that the floor response spectra would be reduced drastically for a base-isolated structure as compared with a fixed-base structure. This reduction of seismic responses would be of considerable benefit for the design of structures and seismic qualification of components. Lastly, a parametric study is performed to determine the effect of varying seismic input using non-linear analysis techniques.
OSTI ID:
170347
Report Number(s):
CONF-950740--; ISBN 0-7918-1343-6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English