Hydrodynamic impact of reactor components - a review

A variety of components belonging to a nuclear reactor are by virtue of their design exposed to a mass of fluid which is either in motion or can be set into motion under certain conditions. While the reactor is in its operational mode, the excitations of the structure by the fluid are generally of moderate intensities. In the case of a well designed component, these pressure fluctuations should not cause the failure of the structure. Problems of this type, generally known as vibrations of structures immersed into fluid (under either periodic or random excitations) have been studied in the past rather extensively. In an upset or emergency condition, a pressure pulse is usually generated and propagated through the fluid. While this hypothetical event is an occurrence of low probability the associated pressures are, as a rule, of intensities sufficiently large to cause extensive damage or even the failure of the component. This type of transient interaction problem is much less studied and the aim of this review is to offer a brief discussion of some of the more interesting results. (Auth.)