Design rules to prevent from elasto-plastic bucking

The development of fast neutron reactors requires the construction of mechanical structures which are subject to thermal transients. These structures being thin, there is a risk of important buckling. Studies developed in the general framework of dimensioning propose a simplified method. This method is based on the determination of the elastic critical load of the perfect structure and its correction by a reduction coefficient which takes into account the effect of tolerances, plasticity and a possible instable post-critical behavior. This paper presents this method and its experimental validation, as also a comparison with the rules proposed by the CODAP 80 (C4 41) for structures subject to an external pressure load. This method has been introduced in the French Rules of design and construction of fast neutron reactor mechanical components (RCC-MR)