DAMAGED CONCRETE WALL AND LEAK RATE UNDER SIMULATEDCONDITIONS

摘要

The leak rate prediction of air and steam through a cracked concrete wall is an extremely important issue inassessing the safety of nuclear reactor containment building. Furthermore the relation between air leak rate andsteam leak rate on the same wall could have some interest for safety prediction. The present study investigates thetransfer of fluids through a wall of 1.3 m of thickness, with a focus on two cases: one on a mechanically damagedconcrete by compressive stress and another one on a crossing artificial flaw in a construction joint realized in theconcrete specimen. The aim of this work was to study comparatively, in laboratory, the permeability of thedamaged concrete walls under two conditions. The first condition was at ambient temperature, a reference test ofpermeability, with dry air, giving the characteristics of permeability and the type of flow through the specimen.The second condition was an accidental scenario with simultaneous effects of temperature and gas (a mix of airand steam) pressure applied on a face, the other one remaining at atmospheric pressure and temperature.