Finite element analysis of prestressed concrete reactor vessels

This paper discusses the development of a finite element code suitable for the safety analysis of prestressed concrete reactor vessels. The project has involved modification of a general purpose computer code to handle reinforced concrete structures as well as comparison of results obtained with the code against published experimental data. The NONSAP nonlinear structural analysis program was selected for the ease with which it can be modified to encompass problems peculiar to nuclear reactors. Pre- and post-processors have been developed for mesh generation and for graphical display of response variables. An out-of-core assembler and solver have been developed for the analysis of large three dimensional problems. The constitutive model for short term loads forms an orthotropic stress-strain relationship in which the concrete and the reinforcing steel are treated as a composite. The variation of stiffness and strength of concrete under multiaxial stress states is accounted for. Cracks are allowed to form at element integration points based on a three dimensional failure envelope in stress space. Composite tensile and shear properties across a crack are modified to account for bond degradation and for dowel action of the reinforcement. The constitutive law for creep is base on the expansion of the usual creep compliance function in the form of a Dirichlet exponential series. Empirical creep data are then fit to the Dirichlet series approximation by means of a least squares procedure. The incremental deformation process is subsequently reduced to a series of variable stiffness elasticity problems in which the past stress history is represented by a finite number of hidden material variables