HANFORD DOUBLE SHELL TANK THERMAL AND SEISMIC PROJECT SENSITIVITY OF DOUBLE SHELL DYNAMIC RESPONSE TO THE WASTE ELASTIC PROPERTIES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity of the dynamic response of the Hanford double-shell tanks (DSTs) to the assumptions regarding the constitutive properties of the contained waste. In all cases, the waste was modeled as a uniform linearly elastic material. The focus of the study was on the changes in the modal response of the tank and waste system as the extensional modulus (elastic modulus in tension and compression) and shear modulus of the waste were varied through six orders of magnitude. Time-history analyses were also performed for selected cases and peak horizontal reaction forces and axial stresses at the bottom of the primary tank were evaluated. Because the analysis focused on the differences in the responses between solid-filled and liquid-filled tanks, it is a comparative analysis rather than an analysis of record for a specific tank or set of tanks. The shear modulus was varied between 4 x 10{sup 3} Pa and 4.135 x 10{sup 9} Pa. The lowest value of shear modulus was sufficient to simulate the modal response of a liquid-containing tank, while the higher values are several orders of magnitude greater than the upper limit of expected properties for tank contents. The range of elastic properties used was sufficient to show liquid-like response at the lower values, followed by a transition range of semi-solid-like response to a clearly identifiable solid-like response. It was assumed that the mechanical properties of the tank contents were spatially uniform. Because sludge-like materials are expected only to exist in the lower part of the tanks, this assumption leads to an exaggeration of the effects of sludge-like materials in the tanks. The results of the study show that up to a waste shear modulus of at least 40,000 Pa, the modal properties of the tank and waste system are very nearly the same as for the equivalent liquid-containing tank. This suggests that the differences in critical tank responses between liquid-containing tanks and tanks containing sludge-like materials having a shear modulus not exceeding 40,000 Pa are unlikely to be greater than those due to the uncertainties involved in the definition of the design ground motion or in the properties of the tank-waste system. This is the fundamental conclusion of the study. The study also shows that increasing the waste extensional modulus and shear modulus does not lead to increased mass participation at the impulsive frequency of the liquid-containing system. Instead, increasing the waste stiffness eventually leads to fundamental changes in the modal properties including an increase in the fundamental system frequency.