Seismic development tests on lead acid batteries for sizewell 'B' PWR

This paper describes a development programme initiated by the CEGB Sizewell 'B' Project Management Team to determine the capability of stand-by electrical power supplies to withstand the effects of a seismic event. Traditionally lead-acid Plante cells, connected together to form batteries, have been used as stand-by power supplies in UK power stations. The cells are mounted into steel stands which are bolted to the floor of the battery room. Such batteries have previously been qualified for use in the Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor Stations at Heysham and Torness in the UK. As the seismic building response levels at Sizewell 'B' and the other proposed PWR sites in the UK are in excess of those for Heysham and Torness, the existing qualification work was insufficient to allow future use without additional work being carried out. Thus, two of Britains leading Suppliers to the CEGB agreed to submit batteries and stands for shaker table tests in a seismic development programme