Simplifying the Seismic Analysis and Design of Piping - Power Engine... http://www.power-eng.com/articles/npi/print/volume-1/issue-4/nucleus...

Code requires that nuclear plant piping must be

designed to withstand seismic effects due to potential
earthquake. During a potential loss of coolant accident
(LOCA) condition in a pressurized water reactor (PWR)
the ice condenser provides a cooling mechanism to
prevent a core meltdown from hot steam.

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I have worked at two of the very few PWR plants in the

United States that have ice condensers: Sequoyah in
Tennessee (pictured above, right) and Donald C. Cook
in Michigan (pictured above, left). They are somewhat
similar and have a fairly decent track record of keeping
the floors of the ice condenser free from debris
generated from ice baskets. In 1998, I was involved in a
root cause analysis of this non-conforming condition at
Donald C. Cook. However, it was determined that the
debris would not obstruct any essential or critical
operating elements in the event of a LOCA condition.

For the seismic qualification of Class MR equipment and

piping for a design basis earthquake, seismic input in
the form of floor response spectra is required for the
points of attachment. In general, the floor response
spectra should be generated using the time history
approach. If the floor response spectra are developed
directly from the ground response spectra, the
conservatism of the method used need to be
established.

Time Period—Spectrum ordinates should be computed

at frequency intervals small enough to produce accurate
floor response spectra, including significant peaks
normally expected at the natural frequencies of the
supporting structures. An applicable regulatory guide
may be used to identify the frequency intervals to be
chosen. Structural frequencies should also be included.
In unsymmetrical structures, more than one of the three

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components of ground motion may produce a significant

response in a given direction. In such cases, the floor
response spectra in the desired direction shall combine
the effects of the three components of the ground
motion. Common practice among piping analysts in
nuclear plants is to use the square root of the sum of the
squares (SRSS) method to combine ordinates of the
floor response spectra that result from the three
components.

Floor Response Spectra—The peaks in the floor

response spectra occurring at the natural frequencies of
the supporting structure shall be smoothed and
broadened to account for the variations in the structural
frequencies owing to uncertainties in such parameters
as the material properties of the structure and soil, soil-
structure interaction (SSI) techniques and the
approximations in the modeling techniques used in
seismic analysis of piping and other structures. The
method selected for analyzing SSI effects should be
suitable for the particular site conditions and should
reproduce the phenomenon’s basic characteristics.
Proper consideration should be given to the incoherence
of seismic input motion over large foundations. The
suitability of assumptions, such as one-dimensional
shear-wave propagation and vertically incident waves,
should be researched.

Zero Period Acceleration—For piping analysis, the

total number of modes to be included in the response
spectrum analysis should be sufficient to capture the
major portion of the response and to ensure that the
contribution of any neglected modes is not significant.
As long as 20 years ago, this author conducted a study
at the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant to evaluate the effects of
not considering the missing mass option in the finite
element analysis. A sampling study was performed that
resulted in modifying the support scheme and adding
axial supports at some locations. In the last 20 years,
technology advances have produced innovative
computer programs to analyze this situation. Older
plants often use these modified techniques during a
power uprate or when utilities consider applying for the
licensing of new power plants.

General Rule for Modal Combination— An acceptable

method for combining the responses of all modes up to
the cutoff frequency for the ith component of motion is:

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When the value of €mn ( m 1 n) for any pair of

frequencies, wm and wn , is less than 0.2 or when the
frequency difference is greater than 10 %, €mn may be
taken as zero.

Time History Requirements—If the time history

method is used, artificial time histories of the DBE
ground motion or the DBE building response shall be
generated. To obtain the best estimate of maximum
response, analyses should generally be performed for
more than one time history and the resulting responses
enveloped. However, for the computation of floor

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response spectra, the use of only one time history is

considered acceptable.

Simplified Analysis Method—In lieu of a response-

spectrum or time history dynamic analysis to determine
the DBE design forces, the simplified method may be
used if the requirements are met. These are generally
applicable to simple equipment or structures that can be
shown to be rigid. Rigid components are defined as
those having no natural frequencies below 25 Hz. Once
determined that this requirement has been satisfied, an
equivalent static analysis may be performed. The
corresponding DBE forces on each portion of the
component or equipment can be obtained by
considering its mass concentrated at its center of gravity
and multiplying the values of the mass by the maximum
floor acceleration for the direction considered:

A structure can be modeled as a single degree of

freedom system if it can be shown that higher modes
have no significant dynamic participation. If the single
degree of freedom model has a frequency within the
amplified range of the response spectrum (less than 25
Hz.) an equivalent static analysis may be performed. In
this case, DBE forces are determined by multiplying the
mass by the spectral acceleration corresponding to the
frequency and damping of the system:

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Static Coefficient Analysis—Static coefficient analysis

is a method of determining DBE loads on components
using simplified, equivalent static analysis procedures,
which are generally simpler and more conservative than
a full dynamic analysis. This is more applicable to
situations where the maximum seismic response results
from loads in the same direction, such as a cantilever of
either uniform or non-uniform mass distribution. The
equivalent static DBE loads shall be determined by
multiplying the component masses, in the direction
considered, by an acceleration equal to a coefficient
times the peak acceleration of the applicable DBE
response spectrum. It takes into account the effects of
both multifrequency and multimode response. Usually a
dynamic load factor of 2 is used. A static coefficient of
1.5 is considered to be sufficiently conservative.
However, if it can be shown that no significant
multifrequency or multimode effects exist, a coefficient
of 1.0 may be used. The resulting forces shall be
distributed over the component in a manner proportional
to its mass:

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DBE loads shall be combined with other concurrent

loadings, as specified below, to meet the objectives
defined for the qualification. Stresses and deflections
shall be determined for the worst combination of loads
for the following load cases and compared with
allowable limits:

Qualification of class MR equipment shall include loads

from attached piping, which shall be applied at each
nozzle in the equipment model and shall be evaluated in
and along with other loads of DBE load case. In some
cases, the effect of the piping system may be more
accurately taken into account by modeling piping and
equipment together. Several finite element softwares
have this capability including CAESAR II, which is
predominantly used in the petrochemical industry. The
representative piping elements are given proper
dynamic characteristics of stiffness and mass as
determined from the piping analysis. The local stresses
at the equipment nozzles are very critical. High stress
concentrations often occur due to the differential
responses of the piping and the equipment at the nozzle
connection. A detailed stress analysis is usually needed
to properly evaluate the local stresses in nozzles.

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Stresses shall be in compliance with the applicable plant

licensing requirements and code of record allowable
stress limitations. The basic stress criteria is that
combined DBE and other load stresses in class MR
equipment remain elastic and stay within the yield value
of the material. Friction shall not be used to resist
seismic forces. Deflection and deformation of moving
parts shall be evaluated to ensure functional capability.
The following items were noted of particular concern per
inspections during previous outages at nuclear power
plants.

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Author: Mir Sajjad Ali has spent 30 years as a piping

stress analysis engineer at nuclear plants at TVA and,
for the past seven years, at Bechtel. He holds a BS
degree in thermomechanics and energy conversion
engineering from the University of Illinois and a MS
degree in industrial engineering with a major in
engineering management from University of Tennessee,
Chattanooga.

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