Mid-height Seismic Isolation of Tall, Slender Equipment in Advanced Nuclear Power Plants

Keywords: Earthquake engineering, equipment protection, mid-height seismic isolation, safety-class equipment, nuclear power plants, earthquake-simulator experiments, design recommendations

Abstract: This report describes a non-traditional seismic isolation solution for designers of safety-class equipment in advanced nuclear reactors. The test specimen considered herein was a tall, slender carbon steel vessel that could represent a steam generator, a reactor vessel, or a heat exchanger. The vessel was supported at its mid-height, near its center of gravity, on a steel frame and isolated using spherical sliding bearings. The isolated vessel was tested using a six degrees-of-freedom earthquake simulator at the University at Buffalo. Numerical models were benchmarked using the experiment data and utilized to quantify the benefits of mid-height seismic isolation. Analysis and design recommendations for equipment isolation in nuclear facilities are provided.