Performance Simulation of Nuclear Containments for Security

Abstract

Under blast loading, nuclear containment structures are subjected to cyclic flexural, axial, and shear forces. Less attention has been paid to modeling the cyclic behavior of reinforced concrete elements in which shear deformations are significant, such as in nuclear containments. Research has demonstrated that the strength of concrete in the principal compression direction is softened by tension in the lateral direction. This interaction has been considered for monotonic loading for many years. To consider this interaction for cyclic loading, the material laws recently derived by Mansour et al. in 2001 for the cyclic softened membrane model (CSMM) can be used. Both fire and explosion effects resulting from blast loading can also be incorporated into the constitutive models of concrete and reinforcing bars. This paper presents a method to implement the CSMM model, so that it can be used to simulate the performance of nuclear containments for security by the design communities.