Tension tests of concrete containment wall elements

Tension tests of concrete containment wall elements were conducted as part of an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) program. The objective of the EPRI testing program is to provide the utility industry with a test-verified analytical method for making realistic estimates of actual capacities of reinforced and prestressed concrete containments under internal overpressurization from postulated degraded core accidents. The testing program for Phase 1 included eight large-scale specimens representing elements from the wall of a containment. Each specimen was 60-in. (1525-mm) square and 24-in. (610-mm) thick and had full-size reinforcing bars. Six specimens were representative of prototypical reinforced concrete containment designs. The remaining two specimens represented prototypical prestressed containment design. Specimens loading included uniaxial loads, biaxial loads, and biaxial loads combined with diagonal loads. Load was applied to specimens statically in increments of appropriate stress levels in the orthogonal and diagonal reinforcement. All specimens were loaded monotonically beyond the yield stress of the reinforcement (68 ksi or 469 MPa) or liner plate (58 ksi or 400 MPa). Different reinforcement configurations and loading arrangements resulted in data that permit a comparison of the effect of controlled variables on cracking and subsequent concrete/reinforcement interaction in containment elements. (orig./RW)