Seismic spatial interaction effects: Evaluation through an impact testing program

The consequences of non-seismically qualified objects falling and striking essential, seismically qualified objects is an analytically difficult problem to assess. Analytical solutions to impact problems are conservative and only available for simple situations. In a nuclear facility, the numerous sources and targets requiring evaluation often have complex geometric configurations, which makes calculations and computer modeling difficult. Few industry or regulatory rules are available for this specialized assessment. A drop test program was recently conducted to calibrate the judgment of seismic qualification engineers who perform interaction evaluations and to further develop seismic interaction criteria. Impact tests on varying combinations of sources and targets were performed by dropping the sources from various heights onto targets that were connected to instruments. This paper summarizes the scope, test configurations, and some results of the drop test program. Force and acceleration time history data and general observations are presented on the ruggedness of various targets when subjected to impacts from different types of sources