Modeling of containment structures on high performance computers Original Research Article

With recent advances in parallel supercomputers and network-connected workstations, the solution of large scale structural engineering problems, such as containment structures, has now become tractable. High-performance computer architectures, which are usually available at large universities and national laboratories, now can solve large nonlinear problems. At the other end of the spectrum, network connected workstations can be configured to become a distributed-parallel computer. A description of the development of a parallelized finite element computer program for the solution of static nonlinear structural mechanics problems is presented here. Also, a finite element methodology is presented for use in finding the structural capacity of reinforced concrete structures. The method is applicable to both cylindrical and rectilinear geometries. Containment structures for nuclear reactors are the final barrier between released radionuclides and the public. Containment structures are constructed from steel, reinforced concrete, or prestressed concrete. US nuclear reactor containment geometries tend to be cylindrical with elliptical or hemispherical heads. The older Soviet designed reactors do not use a containment building to mitigate the effects of accidents. Instead, they employed a sealed set of rectilinear, interconnected compartments, collectively called the accident localization system (ALS), to reduce the release of radionuclides to the atmosphere during accidents. As an illustrative example, the methodology developed herein is applied to a generic VVER-440/V213 design subjected to internal overpressure.