Investigation of liner tearing near penetrations in a reinforced concrete containment under severe accident loads
The inner surfaces of reinforced concrete containment buildings in the United States are lined with steel plate. During a severe accident, the liner plate served as the main seal for preventing the leakage of radionuclides to the outside environment, while the reinforced concrete provides structural support for the liner. If the liner is torn or punctured during the accident, gases can easily escape through cracks in the reinforced concrete wall. An overpressurization test conducted on a 1:6-scale model of a reinforced concrete containment (Horschel, 1989) has demonstrated that the liner can tear before extensive structural failure occurs in the reinforced concrete. In the 1:6-scale model experiment, the pressure inside the model was increased to 145 psig. Leakage from the model became so great that the model could not be pressurized further. Inspection of the model revealed that this leakage was due to tears that had formed in the liner at several locations around the building. All of the liner tears observed in the 1:6-scale model initiated next to studs that were used to anchor the liner to the wall of the containment. Most of the leakage occurred through a single large tear that had grown along the edge of a thickened plate that surrounded a cluster of piping penetrations. Finite element analyses were conducted to determine the mechanisms that were the primary cause of the large liner breach. 3 refs., 7 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6119782
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-88-2173C; CONF-890855-21; ON: DE89010687
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Analyses of separate effects tests for liner tearing in the 1:6 scale model of a reinforced concrete containment building
Analyses of separate effects tests for liner tearing in the 1:6 scale model of a reinforced concrete containment building
Related Subjects
220200* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
ANCHORS
BUILDING MATERIALS
BUILDINGS
CONCRETES
CONTAINERS
CONTAINMENT
CONTAINMENT BUILDINGS
DEFECTS
FAILURES
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
FRACTURES
LINERS
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
PIPES
PLATES
PRESSURE VESSELS
REACTOR SAFETY
REINFORCED CONCRETE
REINFORCED MATERIALS
SAFETY
SCALE MODELS
STRAINS
STRESSES
STRUCTURAL MODELS