Structural design for aircraft impact loading

The distribution of military aircraft and proximity to commercial air routes requires the analysis of aircraft impact effect on nuclear power plant facilities in Europe. The typical approach on recent projects has been the hardening of safety-related buildings and/or protection of redundant safety-related equipment through separation. The 'hardened-building' approach has led to the consideration of severe shock and vibration caused by the aircraft impact and development of corresponding floor response spectra for component design. Conservatively calculated loads resulting from these are in some cases quite severe. The reactor auxiliary system building (Soft Shell Hardcore design) allows a more defensive alternate in the form of a partially softened design. In this approach the equipment layout is arranged such that equipment performing either safety functions or having the potential for significant release of radioactivity (upon destruction) is located in the central area of the plant and is enclosed in thick concrete walls for shielding and protection purposes. The non-safety class equipment is arranged in the area peripheral to the hardened central area and enclosed in thin concrete walls. Since the kinetic energy of the impacting aircraft is absorbed by the collapsed thin walls and ceilings, the vibrational effect on the safety class equipment is drastically reduced. In order to achieve the objective of absorbing high kinetic energy and yet reduce the shock and vibration effects, the softened exterior walls require low resistance and high ductility. This investigation determines the feasibility of two 0.5 m thick walls of the Soft Shell with the simplest possible mathematical model. (Auth.)