Seismic analysis of concrete structures within nuclear industry

Abstract: Earthquake has always been a hazard for civil structures and keeping the structures integrity during and after an earthquake is of vital importance. This phenomenon’s impact is sudden and there is little or no warning to make the preparations for this natural disaster. Much damage has been done on structures which have led to major collapses and loss of many lives. Civil structures such as nuclear power plants are designed to withstand earthquakes and in the event of a major seismic event, to shut down safely. The aim of this thesis is to present the seismic design procedures for concrete structures, in basic and detailed design, according to Eurocode 8. Also to describe and understand the difference between Eurocode 8 and the DNB in seismic analysis of nuclear power plants. To evaluate the use of DNB instead of Eurocode 8 with Swedish seismic conditions is also another aim in this thesis.  Loads and actions which apply on a structure in a seismic design and corresponding load combinations are presented for Eurocode 8 and the DNB. An example is also given to clarify the design of primary seismic beams and columns with high ductility class (DCH). A case study of a nuclear structure from a test project named SMART2013 has been made by analyzing and comparing the results from Eurocode 8 and the DNB with a finite element model in FEM-Design software. Natural frequencies of the model are compared with the tested model in SMART2013-project to evaluate the finite element modeling. The model is seismically analyzed with load combinations from Eurocode 8 and the DNB with Swedish elastic ground response spectrum with the probability of 10-5. Results obtained from the primary seismic beams and columns are compared and analyzed.  Being on the safe and conservative side of the design values is always preferred in seismic analysis of a vital and sensitive structure such as nuclear power plants. The results from this thesis shows that, purely structural, combination of Swedish elastic ground response spectrum with the Eurocode 8 load combination will give more conservative values than the DNB.