Design and analysis of the containment liner

The steel liner of the PWR concrete containment building is a high-integrity component which is required to form a leak-tight membrane during all normal reactor operating conditions and also during and after any postulated accident events. The many penetrations through it, for process pipework, personnel access, electrical services, and for structural embedments into the concrete, present local design and analysis problems which are often very different from those encountered in pressure vessels and other structures. The paper describes the fundamental design approach to the containment liner and discusses the development of appropriate design code rules. Their application is illustrated by reference to the programme of stress analysis work which has been put in hand to demonstrate the integrity of the liner. (author)