Abstract
The transfer-purge chamber is an operation room for nuclear fuel transport and purging in a nuclear power plant, which has a demand for structural reliability and radiation protection. The transfer-purge chamber has features such as large curvature, heavy concrete, long overhang, and irregular cross-sections, and it is constructed of double steel plates reinforced concrete (SC) structure. This study performed shaking table tests for a 1:4.5 scale model of the transfer-purge chamber. Three sets of ground motions were input in the scale model in the horizontal and vertical directions to study its structural reliability and seismic performance. Acceleration response and strain response of the structure were analyzed to evaluate the dynamic characteristics of the transfer-purge chamber under the ground motion. The results show that the transfer-purge chamber has great stiffness and short periods. The periods slightly increase with the rise of intensity of seismic ground motions. Under the excitation of ground motions, the dynamic response of the transfer-purge chamber is slight. No obvious deformation or damage occurred on the transfer-purge chamber, and cracking in concrete or buckling on steel plate did not appear. The transfer-purge chamber has excellent seismic performance, and it is sufficiently safe and reliable from a structural perspective.
Highlights
Double steel plates reinforced concrete structure (SC structure) is a new composite construction composed of steel plates, inner concrete, and connectors, and it has been applied to nuclear power engineering in the last two decades
Usami et al [6] carried out compressive loading tests for 1/5th scale SC wall specimens, and it was found that the buckling stress of the steel plates can be evaluated using Euler’s equation
It was indicated through shear and bending tests that the buckling and yielding of steel plates have no effect on the overall load-displacement relationship of SC walls and the SC structures have a superior seismic capability compared to reinforced concrete (RC) structures with equal steel ratios [7], which provided a new idea and solution for the seismic resistance of buildings in the future
Summary
Double steel plates reinforced concrete structure (SC structure) is a new composite construction composed of steel plates, inner concrete, and connectors, and it has been applied to nuclear power engineering in the last two decades. The SCSW has great initial rigidity that effectively reduces the displacement and deformation of the structure under wind loads or earthquake loads It has excellent ductility, efficient energy dissipation capacity, and seismic performance [3,4]. Eom et al [11] studied the seismic performance of the double steel plates reinforced concrete shear walls (SCSW) through pseudo-static tests under in-plane cyclic loading. The wall of the transfer-purge chamber was constructed of an SC structure, and the thickness of the inner and outer steel plates is 22 mm. Test Apparatus The seismic experiment of the model structure of the transfer-purge chamber was performed on the shaking table in the State Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Environment of China Academy of Building Research. The dimension of the shaking table is 6 m × 6 m,
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