Containment Integrity of SEP Plants under Combined Loads

摘要

Because the containment structure is the last barrier against the release of radioactivity, an assessment was undertaken to identify the design weaknesses and estimate the margins of safety for the SEP containments under the postulated, combined loading conditions of a safe shutdown earthquake (SSE) and a design basis accident (DBA). The design basis accident is either a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) or a main steam line break (MSLB). The containment designs analyzed consisted of three inverted light-bulb shaped drywells used in boiling water reactor (BWR) systems, and three steel-lined concrete containments and a spherical steel shell used in pressurized water reactor (PWR) systems. These designs cover a majority of the containment types used in domestic operating plants. The results indicate that five of the seven designs are adequate even under current design standards. For the remaining two designs, the possible design weaknesses identified were buckling of the spherical steel shell and over-stress in both the radial and tangential directions in one of the concrete containments near its base. (ERA citation 09:040198)