Prestressed concrete containment of nuclear power station with PWR Original Research Article

The initial steps of the development of prestressed concrete containment (PCC) for nuclear power plant (NPP) with pressurized water reactors (PWR) in the former USSR are analyzed. The constructive and technological decisions, accepted for primary PCC of Novovoronez NPP, such as the positioning of reinforcement elements and seaths in cylindrical wall and dome of the containment, the anchorage of reinforcement element ends, the technological aspects of concrete works, system and technology of a high level of biaxial pressing on a thin-wall structure at large wrapping angles of power reinforcing strands and etc. are observed. Experience won through the construction and operation of the primary PCC served as a basis for development of a new generation of improved unified PCC (IUPCC) for serial NPP, equipped with PWR of capacity of 1000 MW. The IUPCC is actually a cylinder 45 m in diameter and 54-m high covered with a gently sloping spherical dome. Thickness of cylinder wall is 1200 mm and that of dome wall is 1100 mm. The principle novelty of this PCC is the type and positioning of reinforcement strands. The paper describes strand arrangement and their anchorage in IUPCC. In the vertical part of PCC, strands are arranged on a helical-loop scheme and both strand ends are firmly anchored at the ring girder. Each strand is bended at the bottom of the containment. In the dome, strands are grouped on the orthogonal-loop scheme with the anchorage on one side and with bend of loop on the opposite side of the ring girder. To prevent the leakage of gases and to ensure tightness of the IUPCC an inner metal 8-mm liner with special anti-corrosion coating is designed. Monitoring and checking the stress and strain state of IUPCC is possible during the building, testing as well as operating periods. If any defects or decreased prestress of concrete are detected it is possible to tighten or replace the strands. It is noted that the more than 20 IUPCCs are in-service in Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria where NPP with PWR of capacity of 1000 MW were constructed.