Preliminary Analysis of Pressure Bearing Capacity for a Typical Prestressed Concrete Containment

In this paper, the pressure bearing capacity of containment is analyzed to support the severe accident management guidelines development. The finite element model of containment is established. The concrete, the steel liner, and the prestressed tendons models are developed. The ordinary steel bars are in an integrated model with concrete. The prestressed tendons and concrete are connected by constraint equations. Self-weight case, prestressing load case, and internal pressure loads cases are analyzed. Results show that in the self-weight case, the containment is compressed slightly, which can improve the pressure capacity of the containment. In the prestressing loads case, the containment is much more compressed comparing with the self-weight case. In the internal pressure cases, the high stress areas occurred around the equipment hatch.