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Volume 2, Number 3, July 2017 , pages 211-223 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/acd.2017.2.3.211 |
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Seismic assessment of base-isolated nuclear power plants |
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Babak Farmanbordar, Azlan Bin Adnan, Mahmood Md. Tahir and Iman Faridmehr
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| Abstract | ||
| This research presented a numerical and experimental study on the seismic performance of first-generation base-isolated and fixed-base nuclear power plants (NPP). Three types of the base isolation system were applied to rehabilitate the first-generation nuclear power plants: frictional pendulum (FP), high-damping rubber (HDR) and lead-rubber (LR) base isolation. Also, an Excel program was proposed for the design of the abovementioned base isolators in accordance with UBC 97 and the Japan Society of Base Isolation Regulation. The seismic assessment was performed using the pushover and nonlinear time history analysis methods in accordance with the FEMA 356 regulation. To validate the adequacy of the proposed design procedure, two small-scale NPPs were constructed at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia\'s structural laboratory and subjected to a pushover test for two different base conditions, fixed and HDR-isolated base. The results showed that base-isolated structures achieved adequate seismic performance compared with the fixed-base one, and all three isolators led to a significant reduction in the containment\'s tension, overturning moment and base shear. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| dynamic relaxation method; concentrated damping; form-finding; membrane structures | ||
| Address | ||
| Babak Farmanbordar and Azlan Bin Adnan: Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research (e-SEER), Department of Structure and Materials, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81300 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Mahmood Md. Tahir and Iman Faridmehr: UTM Construction Research Centre (CRC), Institute for Smart Infrastructures and Innovative Construction, Universiti, Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, Johor Bahru, 81300, Malaysia | ||
