Equipment Response at the El Centro Steam Plant During the October 15, 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake

摘要

For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) performed a dynamic seismic analysis of Unit 4 of the El Centro Steam Plant in El Centro, Calif. Built in 1968, Unit 4 is an oil-or-gas-fired, steam-driven turbine-generator that was designed to resist a static lateral force equivalent to 20% of the dead and live load applied laterally. However, the unit's structural and mechanical systems sustained only minor damage during the October 15, 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake that produced an estimated 0.5 g peak horizontal ground acceleration (0.6 g vertical) at the site. LLNL's seismic analysis was done to analytically estimate the equipment response, which, when compared to actual observation, will indicate the levels of actual equipment capacity.