Feasibility studies on design of steel containment for AHWR subjected to normal and seismic loads

Reactor Containments in nuclear power plants are the final leak tight harriers preventing release of radioactive material during the accident to the environment. It should provide containment against fission product release, passive containment cooling and should be economical. In the world various configurations have been adopted depending on the accident pressures, temperatures, leak rate requirements and radius of exclusion zones. economy, speed of construction etc. Some of the containments arc of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC), Prestressed Cement Concrete (PCC), RCC with the liner, PCC with the liner and Steel. The design concepts and the choice of containment depend on the country practices. The main objective of this paper is to design, analyze and characterize the effectiveness of steel containment for AHWR and compare it with other type of containments. The paper discusses the literature regarding various types of existing containments in the world. In depth study of design practice for cylinder and various types of heads have been discussed. Also discusses the finite element modeling of the containment, analysis for normal and accidental loads and the design qualification as per the ASME and IS-800 codes. In the conclusion the advantage of steel containment is highlighted with the small discussion on the newer trends of construction. (author)