Equipment response spectra for nuclear power plant systems

Abstract

An analytical method is developed whereby a simple estimate can be obtained of the maximum dynamic response of light equipment attached to a structure subjected to ground motion. The natural frequency of the equipment, modeled as a single-degree-of-freedom system, is considered to be close or equal to one of the natural frequencies of the N-degree-of-freedom structure. This estimate provides a convenient, rational basis for the structural design of the equipment and its installation. The approach is based on the transient analysis of lightly damped tuned or slightly nontuned equipment-structure systems in which the mass of the equipment is much smaller than that of the structure. It is assumed that the information available to the designer is a design spectrum for the ground motion, fixed-base modal properties of the structure, and fixed-base properties of the equipment. The results obtained are simple estimates of the maximum acceleration and displacement of the equipment. The method can also be used to treat closely spaced modes in structural systems, where the square root of the sum of the squares procedure is known to be invalid. This analytical method is also applied to nontuned equipment-structure systems for which the conventional floor spectrum method is mathematically valid. A closed-form solution is obtained which permits an estimate of the maximum response of the equipment to be determined without the necessity to compute time histories as required by the floor spectrum method.