Finite element analysis of prestressed concrete reactor vessels. [NONSAP code]

Conference · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:7096072

Smith, P D; Cook, W A; Anderson, C A

Several present and proposed gas-cooled reactors use concrete pressure vessels. In addition, concrete is almost universally used for the secondary containment structures of water-cooled reactors. Regulatory agencies must have means of assuring that these concrete structures perform their containment functions during normal operation and after extreme conditions of transient overpressure and high temperature. The NONSAP nonlinear structural analysis program has been extensively modified to provide one analytical means of assessing the safety of reinforced concrete pressure vessels and containments. Several structural analysis codes were studied to evaluate their ability to model the nonlinear static and dynamic behavior of three-dimensional structures. The NONSAP code was selected because of its availability and because of the ease with which it can be modified. In particular, the modular structure of this code allows ready addition of specialized material models. Major modifications have been the development of pre- and post-processors for mesh generation and graphics, the addition of an out-of-core solver, and the addition of constitutive models for reinforced concrete subject to either long-term or short-term loads. Emphasis was placed on development of a three-dimensional analysis capability.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 7096072
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-77-530; CONF-770807-9; TRN: 77-017306
• Resource Relation: Conference: 4. international conference on structural mechanics in reactor technology, San Francisco, CA, USA, 15 Aug 1977
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
HTGR TYPE REACTORS
PRESSURE VESSELS
STRESS ANALYSIS
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
N CODES
PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
BUILDING MATERIALS
COMPUTER CODES
CONCRETES
CONTAINERS
GAS COOLED REACTORS
GRAPHITE MODERATED REACTORS
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
REACTORS
210300* - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Graphite Moderated