Special Issues in the Application of Seismic Isolation to Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract

While seismic isolation is one of the principal approaches used to mitigate the risks associated with earthquake ground shaking, it has found only limited application in the construction of nuclear power plants (NPPs). As a new application, it is necessary to understand how the overall process works and figure out potential difficulties in all stages of managing isolated NPPs. Several manufacturers, experts, and representatives from engineering firms were contacted and interviewed to better understand potential difficulties in the application of seismic isolation to NPPs. In addition to this firsthand knowledge, studies and research conducted in the area of radiation exposure and the area of general durability are reviewed. According to these materials, this paper summarizes some issues related to the durability of the isolators, radiation, and other environmental effects on devices and raises some understanding and special issues in the planning, design, analysis, procurement, installation, operations, and maintenance stages of managing a seismically isolated NPP. These topics are expected to provide a certain guiding significance on future application of seismic isolation for NPPs.