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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Verification of nonlinear piping response calculation with data from seismic testing of an in-plant piping system

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5372260
; ;  [1]
  1. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Engineering

The nonlinear piping analysis code NONPIPE was evaluated by modeling and performing posttest calculations for a high level seismic test performed on an in-plant piping system at the HDR test facility in Germany. The piping used only rigid struts for dynamic supports and experienced significant nonlinear response and plastic deformation in the test. The calculated responses in general had the same time trends as the measurements but were quite variable in estimating peak values. Peak strains were overestimated, and shear strains to a greater degree than bending strains. Peak strut forces were underestimated as a group. On the average the displacements were estimated close to the measurements and the accelerations were overestimated. Spatial consistency in displacement and strut force estimates was better than for accelerations. Qualitatively the analytical predictions are similar to experimental observations and they provide quantitative estimates that are useful for practical purposes. The modeling aspects that contribute to large discrepancies are identified. Both the experiments and calculations clearly indicate that piping is all but immune to gross failure even when subjected to extreme seismic loading.

Research Organization:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Engineering; Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
NRC; Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
5372260
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-5841; ANL--92/4; ON: TI92011388
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English