Damage performance analysis of prestressed concrete containments following a loss of coolant accident considering different external temperatures

Abstract

The damage performance of the containment may be greatly threatened by coupling of temperature and internal pressure following a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). However, there is still no universal agreement on how coupling of temperature and internal pressure affects the damage mechanism of the containment. Furthermore, despite the wide distribution of nuclear power plants (NPPs) around China, the influence of different external temperatures of containment on the damage mechanism is still unclear. In this study, the refined finite element (FE) model of the containment is created and the different temperature field distribution is studied. The damage performance of the containment under temperature–pressure coupling is then investigated and discussed. The results show that the temperature can induce concrete’s crack at the thickening region of containment and steel liner to yield, and the damage extent of the steel liner and prestressing tendons is further aggravated with increasing internal pressure and decreasing external temperature.