Since 2002, Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) has been carrying out seismic capacity tests. The condensate storage tank (CST) which is used in a BWR plant is one of the most important equipment from the viewpoint of seismic Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). Many CST have the shape characteristics of a large diameter and relatively low height. And typical damage mode is expected to be elephant-foot bulge (EFB) or shear buckling. In this study, JNES performed shaking table tests using scaled models of the tank to clarify failure mode and ultimate strength, or acceleration level which caused failure of the tank. The excitation level was increased until the tank reached the failure mode, or ultimate state. In the excitation tests, EFB and shear buckling were observed, and the tank resulted in the ultimate state in which internal water leaked from cracks caused by shear buckling on the sidewall. The seismic capacity and dynamic response reduction effect were evaluated from test results, and the method to estimate seismic capacity of the thin walled cylindrical tank like CST using FEM analysis and the dynamic response reduction factor was proposed.

Volume Subject Area:
Seismic Engineering
Topics:
Boiling water reactors, Earthquakes, Storage tanks, Tensile strength, Buckling, Shear (Mechanics), Dynamic response, Excitation, Failure mechanisms, Condensed matter, Damage, Failure, Finite element methods, Finite element model, Fracture (Materials), Nuclear power, Probabilistic safety assessment, Safety, Shapes, Water
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Copyright © 2009
 by ASME
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