Mechanical properties of complex configurations for nuclear containment structures

Abstract

Investigation of the mechanical behaviour of nuclear containment vessels is important for evaluating their safety. A finite-element model based on an actual nuclear containment vessel was developed in this work. The influences of loading direction under uniaxial or biaxial loading on the mechanical behaviour of the vessel were assessed. The results indicate that the reinforcement configuration and the loading direction have a significant effect on the bearing capacity under uniaxial loading. As the reinforcement configurations in the considered specimens were different, the change trend of stress with loading ratio was significantly different under biaxial loading. The validity and reliability of the analysis were verified by several related finite-element simulations.