Numerical simulation of aircraft crash on nuclear containment structure

Numerical simulations were carried with ABAQUS/Explicit finite element code in order to predict the response of BWR Mark III type nuclear containment against Boeing 707-320 aircraft crash. The load of the aircraft was applied using Riera (1968) and Riera et al. (1982) force history curve. The damaged plasticity model was used to predict the behavior of concrete while the Johnson-Cook elasto-viscoplastic material model was used to incorporate the behavior of steel reinforcement. The crash was considered to occur at two different locations i.e., the midpoint of the cylindrical portion and the junction of dome and cylinder. The midpoint of the cylindrical portion experienced more deformation. The strain rate in the material model was varied and found to have a significant effect on the response of containment. The results of the present investigation were compared with those of the studies available in literature and a close agreement with the previous results was found in terms of maximum target deformation. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.