Leak and structural test of personnel airlock for LWR (light water reactor) containments subjected to pressures and temperatures beyond design limits

Abstract

As part of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (USNRC) Containment Integrity Program, tests were performed on a full-size personnel airlock for a nuclear containment building to determine its leakage potential and to measure its structural and thermal response. The airlock was subjected to conditions simulating severe accident conditions. Testing was performed by CBI Research Corporation (CBIRC) under contract to Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), which manages the Containment Integrity Program for the USNRC. The objective of the test was to characterize the performance of airlock door seals when subjected to conditions that simulate a severe accident condition. The seals were aged at an accelerated rate to simulate aging that might occur during 40 years of continuous service and a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). The data obtained from this test will be used by SNL as a benchmark for development of analytical methods. Leak rate, strain, temperature, displacement, and pressure data were measured and recorded from over 330 transducers. A total of nine tests were performed on the airlock. During the beyond-design-basis test, the inner door and bulkhead of the airlock were exposed to a maximum surface pressure of 300 psig (2.07 MPa) and a maximum surface temperature on the doormore » of 783/degree/F (417/degree/C). The remaining eight tests were performed at ambient temperatures and at air pressures on the airlock doors up to 69 psig (476 kPa). These tests were conducted to provide reference points for leakage under design conditions, to estimate the need for and effectiveness of the gaskets, and to characterize the post-severe accident behavior of the airlock. 13 refs., 84 figs., 9 tabs.« less