Evaluation of behavior and the radial shear strength of a reinforced concrete containment structure

This study is on the behavior and strength of the 1/6-scale reinforced concrete containment model tested at Sandia National Laboratories. The containment model was pressurized to more than three times its design pressure until a tear in the liner terminated the test. Deformation data from the model test was used to interpret behavior and to estimate the internal forces at the wall-basemat connection. Analytical models were developed for radial-expansion response and for the wall and basemat interaction. A possible mode of structural failure of containments subjected to high pressures is by the radial-shear failure at the wall-basemat connection. Although the containment model showed no sign that such a failure was imminent when the test was stopped, if it had been possible to increase the internal pressure an abrupt shear failure was possible. A method based on the compressive force due to flexure at the wall-base was developed to evaluate the radial shear strength of the 1/6-scale containment model. Using the developed methodology, an estimate is made of the pressure that would initiate a shear failure at the wall- basemat junction of the model. This estimate is based on a projection of the observed strength of similar 1/12-scale wall-basemat connections, which have failed in shear