A structural model of the long-term degradation of the concrete biological shield

Cheniour, Amani; Davidson, Eva; Le Pape, Yann; Pandya, Tara; Collins, Benjamin; Spencer, Benjamin W.; Godfrey, Andrew; Asgari, Mehdi

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112217

A structural model of the long-term degradation of the concrete biological shield

Journal Article · Wed Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2023 · Nuclear Engineering and Design

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112217· OSTI ID:1958387

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Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

The concrete biological shield (CBS) of light water reactors is exposed to high neutron radiation dose in the long term, which may lead to the degradation of the concrete’s mechanical properties. Given the important shielding role of the CBS, it is necessary to investigate the irradiation effects at the structural scale and provide estimates of the damage extent from the wall’s inner surface to study potential license renewals. For this purpose, we developed a mechanical model accounting for radiation-induced expansion, creep, and damage in concrete using the Grizzly finite element code, informed by ex-core neutron flux calculations using the VERA tool. The model was applied to a 3D CBS structure represented by the CBS wall, a steel liner, reinforcement bars, and a concrete base mat and evaluated damage at 40, 60, and 80 years of operation. The VERA model predicted a maximum fluence of approximately 2 x 10¹⁹ ncm^-2at 80 years of operation. The results showed that damage is highest at the inner surface of the CBS wall and gradually decreases with depth. It extends beyond the rebar after 60 years and reaches a depth of approximately 12 cm at 80 years.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC07-05ID14517; 31310018S0021

OSTI ID:: 1958387

Journal Information:: Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 405, Issue 405; ISSN 0029-5493

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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