The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the significant duration of ground motions on responses of base-isolated nuclear power plants (NPPs). Two sets of ground motion records with short duration (SD) and long duration (LD) motions, scaled to match the target response spectrum, are used to perform time-history analyses. The reactor containment building in the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) NPP is numerically modeled using lumped-mass stick elements in SAP2000. Seismic responses of the base-isolated NPP are monitored in forms of lateral displacements, shear forces, floor response spectra of the containment building, and hysteretic energy of the lead rubber bearing (LRB). Fragility curves for different limit states, which are defined based on the shear deformation of the base isolator, are developed. The numerical results reveal that the average seismic responses of base-isolated NPP under SD and LD motion sets were shown to be mostly identical. For PGA larger than 0.4g, the mean deformation of LRB for LD motions was bigger than that for SD ones due to a higher hysteretic energy of LRB produced in LD shakings. Under LD motions, median parameters of fragility functions for three limit states were reduced by 12% to 15% compared to that due to SD motions. This clearly indicates that it is important to select ground motions with both SD and LD proportionally in the seismic evaluation of NPP structures.

In order to increase the seismic safety of nuclear power plant (NPP) structures, a technique to reduce the seismic load transmitted to the NPP structure by using a seismic isolation device such as a lead-rubber bearing has recently been actively researched. In seismic design of NPP structures, three directional (two horizontal and one vertical directions) artificial synthetic earthquakes (G0 group) corresponding to the standard design spectrum are generally used. In this study, seismic analysis was performed by using three directional artificial synthetic earthquakes (M0 group) corresponding to the maximum-minimum spectrum reflecting uncertainty of incident direction of earthquake load. The design basis earthquake (DBE) and the beyond design basis earthquakes (BDBEs are equal to 150%, 167%, and 200% DBE) of G0 and M0 earthquake groups were respectively generated for 30 sets and used for the seismic analysis. The purpose of this study is to compare seismic responses and seismic fragility curves of seismically isolated NPP structures subjected to DBE and BDBE. From the seismic fragility curves, the probability of failure of the seismic isolation system when the peak ground acceleration (PGA) is 0.5 g is about 5% for the M0 earthquake group and about 3% for the G0 earthquake group.

The seismically isolated nuclear power plants shall be designed for design basis earthquake (DBE) and considered to ensure safety against beyond design basis earthquake (BDBE). In order to limit the excessive displacement of the seismic isolation system of the seismically isolated structure, the moat is installed at a certain distance from the upper mat supporting the superstructure. This certain distance is called clearance to stop (CS) and is calculated from the 90th percentile displacement of seismic isolation system subjected to BDBE. For design purposes, the CS can be obtained simply by multiplying the median displacement of the seismic isolation system against DBE by scale factor with a value of 3. The DBE and BDBE used in this study were generated by using 30 sets of artificial earthquakes corresponding to the nuclear standard design spectrum. In addition, latin hyper cube sampling was applied to generate 30 sets of artificial earthquakes corresponding to maximum - minimum spectra. For the DBE, the median displacement and the 99th percentile displacement of the seismic isolation system were calculated. For the BDBE, the suitability of the scale factor was assessed after calculating the 90th percentile displacement of the seismic isolation system.

In order to improve the seismic performance of structures, friction pendulum system (FPS) is the most commonly used seismic isolation device in addition to lead rubber bearing (LRB) in high seismicity area. In a nuclear power plant (NPP) with a large self weight, it is necessary to install a large number of seismic isolation devices, and the position of the center of rigidity varies depending on the arrangement of the seismic isolation devices. Due to the increase in the eccentricity, which is the difference between the center of gravity of the nuclear structure and the center of stiffness of the seismic isolators, an excessive seismic response may occur which could not be considered at the design stage. Three different types of eccentricity models (CASE 1, CASE 2, and CASE 3) were used for seismic response evaluation of seismically isolated NPP due to the increase of eccentricity (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%). The analytical model of the seismic isolation system was compared using the equivalent linear model and the bilinear model. From the results of the seismic response of the seismically isolated NPP with increasing eccentricity, it can be observed that the effect of eccentricity on the seismic response for the equivalent linear model is larger than that for the bilinear model.

In order to modeling seismic isolation system such as lead-rubber bearing (LRB), bilinear model is widely used by many researchers. In general, an actual force-displacement relationship for LRB has a smooth hysteretic shape. So, Bouc-Wen model with smooth hysteretic shape represents more accurately actual hysteretic shape than bilinear model. In this study, seismic responses for seismically isolated nuclear power plant (NPP) with LRB modelled by Bouc-Wen and bilinear models are compared with those of NPP without seismic isolation system. To evaluate effect of earthquake characteristics for seismic responses of NPP isolated by LRB, 5 different site class earthquakes distinguished by Geomatrix 3rd Letter Site Classification and artificially generated earthquakes corresponding to standard design spectrum by Reg. Guide 1.60 are used as input earthquakes. From the seismic response results of seismically isolated NPP, it can be observed that maximum displacements of seismic isolation modelled by Bouc-Wen model are larger than those by bilinear model. Seismic responses of NPP with LRB is significantly reduced than those without LRB. This reduction effect for seismic responses of NPP subjected to Site A (rock) earthquakes is larger than that to Site E (soft soil) earthquakes.

This study intends to evaluate the conservativeness of the fixed-base analysis as compared to the soil-structure interaction (SSI) analysis for the seismically isolated model of a nuclear power plant in Korea. To that goal, the boundary reaction method (BRM), combining frequency-domain and time-domain analyses in a twofold process, is adopted for the SSI analysis considering the nonlinearity of the seismic base isolation. The program KIESSI-3D is used for computing the reaction forces in the frequency domain and the program MIDAS/Civil is applied for the nonlinear time-domain analysis. The BRM numerical model is verified by comparing the results of the frequency-domain analysis and time-domain analysis for the soil-structure system with an equivalent linear base isolation model. Moreover, the displacement response of the base isolation and the horizontal response at the top of the structure obtained by the nonlinear SSI analysis using BRM are compared with those obtained by the fixed-base analysis. The comparison reveals that the fixed-base analysis provides conservative peak deformation for the base isolation but is not particularly conservative in term of the floor response spectrum of the superstructure.

이 연구는 기초의 묻힘이 면진 원전구조물의 응답에 미치는 효과를 지표기초와 비교하여 평가하였다. 면진장치의 비선형 성을 고려한 비선형 SSI 해석은 진동수영역해석과 시간영역해석의 복합법인 경계반력법(BRM)을 이용하여 수행하였다. BRM 해석모델은 BRM을 이용한 등가선형 SSI 해석결과를 재래의 주파수영역 SSI 해석결과와 비교함으로 검증하였다. 마 지막으로 비선형 SSI해석에 의한 묻힌기초 모델의 면진장치의 변위 및 구조물 응답을 지표기초의 해석결과와 비교하였다. 비교결과, 면진장치의 변위응답은 묻힌기초효과를 고려할 경우 감소할 수 있음을 알 수 있었다.

Recently, many people have become interested in seismic stability enhancement and a chain of research and development be proceed for application of nuclear power plant according to increase the frequency and magnitude of earthquake event. Such as seismic isolation system is applied to general structure (architecture, bridge and LNG tank etc.) from ancient times. But the application results is limited for Nuclear power plant. In this paper, we proposed a stability of variable axial load from beyond design basis earthquake in Nuclear power plant. Also, the change of stiffness in isolator from the application of generally design equation is not equal to according to change in axial load compare with the experimental result in variable axial load. Therefore we proposed the empirical formula of design equation from test result of full-scale multi-lead rubber bearing for seismic analysis with real behavior (variable axial load) in the earthquake motion.

The Eradi Quake System (EQS) is a seismic isolation bearing system designed to minimize forces and displacements experienced by structures subjected to ground motion. The EQS dissipates seismic energy through friction of Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFE) disk pad. In general, a force-displacement relationship of EQS has post yield stiffness hardening during large inelastic displacement. In this study, seismic responses of seismically isolated nuclear power plant (NPP) subjected to design basis earthquake (DBE) and beyond design basis earthquakes (150% DBE and 167% DBE) are compared considering the post yield stiffness hardening effect of EQS. From the results, it can be observed that if the post-yield stiffness hardening effect of EQS is increased, the displacement response of EQS is reduced, and the acceleration and shear responses of containment structures of NPP is increased.

대규모 지진에 대한 원전의 안전성을 확보하는 방안으로 기존 원전 구조물에 면진장치를 설치하는 방안이 도입되고 있다. 면진장치를 설치함으로써 상부구조와 지반의 거동을 격리시킬 수 있고, 구조물 자체의 고유주기가 길어지게 되는데, 이를 통해 지진하중에 대한 구조물의 응답을 감소시킬 수 있게 된다. 특히 원전구조물 설계 시 원전구조물 자체뿐만 아니라 원전 내부 기기에 대한 안전성 확보가 필수적이다. 이를 위해 특정 층에 위치한 기기의 설계를 위해 각 층의 최대 요구 응답을 나타내는 층응답스펙트럼이 일반적으로 사용된다. 본 논문에서는 원전 구조물의 지진해석을 통해 특정 층의 층응답스펙트럼을 평가하고, 면진 장치의 거동 특성중 하나인 2차 경화에 대한 영향 또한 평가하였다.

대규모 지진에 대한 원전의 안전성을 확보하는 방안으로 기존 원전 구조물에 면진장치를 설치하는 방안이 도입되고 있다. 면진장치를 설치함으로써 상부구조와 지반의 거동을 격리시킬 수 있고, 구조물 자체의 고유주기가 길어지게 되는데, 이를 통 해 지진하중에 대한 구조물의 응답을 감소시킬 수 있게 된다. 특히 원전구조물 설계 시 원전구조물 자체뿐만 아니라 원전 내 부 기기에 대한 안전성 확보가 필수적이다. 이를 위해 특정 층에 위치한 기기의 설계를 위해 각 층의 최대 요구 응답을 나타 내는 층응답스펙트럼이 일반적으로 사용된다. 본 논문에서는 원전 구조물의 지진해석을 통해 특정 층의 층응답스펙트럼을 평가하고, 면진 장치의 거동 특성중 하나인 2차 경화에 대한 영향 또한 평가하였다.

In order to improve seismic safety of nuclear power plant (NPP) structures in high seismicity area, seismic isolation system can be adapted. In this study, friction pendulum system (FPS) is used as the seismic isolation system. According to Coulomb‘s friction theory, friction coefficient is constant regardless of bearing pressure and sliding velocity. However, friction coefficient under actual situation can be changed according to bearing pressure, sliding velocity and temperature. Seismic responses of friction pendulum system with constant friction and various velocity-dependent friction are compared. The velocity-dependent friction coefficients of FPS are varied between lowand fast-velocity friction coefficients according to sliding velocity. From the results of seismic analysis of FPS with various cases of friction coefficient, it can be observed that the yield force of FPS becomes larger as the fast-velocity friction coefficient becomes larger. Also, the displacement response of FPS becomes smaller as the fast-velocity coefficient becomes larger.

ASCE 4 requires that a hard stop be built around the seismic isolation system in nuclear power plants. In order to maintain the function of the isolation system, this hard stop is required to have clearance-to-stop, which should be no less than the 90th-percentile displacements for 150% Design Basis Earthquake (DBE) shaking. Huang et al. calculated clearance-to-stop by using a Latin Hypercube Sampling technique, without considering the rocking behavior of the isolated structure. This paper investigates the effects on estimation of clearance-to-stop due to 1) rocking behavior of the isolated structure and 2) sampling technique for considering the uncertainties of isolation system. This paper explains the simplified analysis model to consider the rocking behavior of the isolated structure, and the input earthquakes recorded at Diablo Canyon in the western United States. In order to more accurately approximate the distribution tail of the horizontal displacement in the isolated structure, a modified Latin Hypercube Sampling technique is proposed, and then this technique was applied to consider the uncertainty of the isolation system. Through the use of this technique, it was found that rocking behavior has no significant effect on horizontal displacement (and thus clearance-to-stop) of the isolated structure, and the modified Latin Hypercube Sampling technique more accurately approximates the distribution tail of the horizontal displacement than the existing Latin Hypercube Sampling technique.

In order to increase seismic performance of nuclear power plant (NPP) in strong seismic zone, lead-rubber bearing (LRB) can be applied to seismic isolation system of NPP structures. Simple equivalent linear model as structural analysis model of LRB is more widely used in initial design process of LRB than a bilinear model. Seismic responses for seismically isolated NPP containment structures subjected to earthquakes categorized into 5 different soil-site classes are calculated by both of the equivalent linear- and bilinear- LRB models and compared each others. It can be observed that the maximum displacements of LRB and shear forces of containment in the case of the equivalent linear LRB model are larger than those in the case of bilinear LRB model. From the seismic fragility curves of NPP containment structures isolated by LRB, it can be observed that seismic fragility in the case of equivalent linear LRB model are about 5~30 % larger than those in the case of bilinear LRB model.

It is very important to assure the seismic performance of equipment as well as building structures in seismic design of nuclear power plant(NPP). Seismically isolated structures may be reviewed mainly on the horizontal seismic responses. Considering the equipment installed in the NPP, the vertical earthquake responses of the structure also should be reviewed. This study has investigated the vertical seismic demand of seismically isolated structure by lead rubber bearings(LRBs). For the numerical evaluation of seismic demand of the base isolated NPP, the Korean standard nuclear power plant (APR1400) is modeled as 4 different models, which are supported by LRBs to have 4 different horizontal target periods. Two real earthquake records and artificially generated input motions have been used as inputs for earthquake analyses. For the study, the vertical floor response spectra(FRS) were generated at the major points of the structure. As a results, the vertical seismic responses of horizontally isolated structure have largely increased due to flexibility of elastomeric isolator. The vertical stiffness of the bearings are more carefully considered in the seismic design of the base-isolated NPPs which have the various equipment inside.

The nuclear accident due to the recent earthquake in Japan has triggered awareness of the importance of safety with regard to nuclear power plants (NPPs). An earthquake is one of the most important parameters which governs the safety of NPPs among external events. Application of a base isolation system for NPPs can reduce the risk for earthquakes. At present, a soil-structure interaction (SSI) analysis is essential in the seismic design of NPPs in consideration of the ground structure interaction. In the seismic analysis of the base-isolated NPP, it is restrictive to consider the nonlinear properties of seismic isolation devices due to the linear analysis of the SSI analysis programs, such as SASSI. Thus, in this study, SSI analyses are performed using an iterative approach considering the material nonlinearity of the isolators. By performing the SSI analysis using an iterative approach, the nonlinear properties of isolators can be considered. The difference between the SSI analysis results without iteration and SSI with iteration using SASSI is noticeable. The results of the SSI analysis using an effective linear (non-iterative) approach underestimate the spectral acceleration because the effective linear model cannot consider the nonlinear properties of isolators. The results of the SSI analysis show that the horizontal response of the base-isolated NPP is significantly reduced.

This paper presents the performance improvement of an EQS (Eradic Quake System) device applied to a nuclear power plant. For the nuclear facility, the EQS device needs to be ensured to have high quality, flexibility of design and reliability. To improve the reliability of the design, the hysteresis of the device must be exactly predicted. The friction coefficient of PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene) and the stiffness of the MER-Spring are considered as the factors influencing the hysteresis curve. In this paper, those factors are analysed to predict the behavior of the device and to improve the equipment of the EQS device. The results of the improved EQS device have been verified via a tests to be comparable with the predicted results. The estimation results indicate that considering those factors is more appropriate than the results of the previous design and method.

In order to perform a soil-isolation-structure interaction analysis of seismically isolated nuclear power plant (NPP) structures, the nonlinear behavior of a seismic isolation system may be converted to an equivalent linear model used in frequency domain analysis. Seismic responses for seismically isolated NPP containment structures subjected to a simple artificial acceleration history and different site class earthquakes are evaluated for the equivalent-linear and nonlinear models that have been applied to lead-rubber bearing (LRB) modeling. It can be observed that the maximum displacements of the equivalent linear model are larger than that of the nonlinear model. From the floor response spectrum analysis for the top of NPP containment structures, it can be observed that the spectral acceleration of an equivalent linear model at about 0.5 Hz frequency is about 2~3 times larger than that of a nonlinear model.

There has been an increasing demand for introducing a base isolation system to secure the seismic safety of a nuclear power plant. However, the design criteria and the safety assessment methodology of a base isolated nuclear facility are still being developed. A performance based design concept for the base isolation system needs to be added to the general seismic design procedures. For the base isolation system, the displacement responses of isolators excited by the extended design basis earthquake are important as well as the design displacement. The possible displacement response by the extended design basis earthquake should be limited less than the failure displacement of the isolator. The failure of isolators were investigated by an experimental test to define the ultimate strain level of rubber bearings. The uncertainty analysis, considering the variations of the mechanical properties of isolators and input ground motions, was performed to estimate the probabilistic distribution of the isolator displacement. The relationship of the displacement response by each ground motion level was compared in view of a period elongation and a reduction of damping. Finally, several examples of isolator parameters are calculated and the considerations for an acceptable isolation design is discussed.

In order to increase the seismic safety of nuclear power plant (NPP) structures in high seismicity regions, seismic isolation techniques can be adapted to NPP structures. In this paper, the applicability of multi-step analysis of seismically isolated NPP containment structures with lead-rubber bearings (LRB) is evaluated. The floor response spectrum of NPP containment structures with equivalent linear LRB and nonlinear LRB are compared. In addition, the force-displacement relationships for equivalent linear LRB and nonlinear LRB are compared.