Cost-effectivenessanalysisofseismicallyisolatedpoolstructuresforthestorageofnuclearspent-fuelassembliesOriginalResearchArticle

Thisstudyintroducesamethodforevaluatingcost-effectivenessofseismicallyisolatedpoolstructures,takingaccountoffluid–structureinteractioneffects.Asameasureofcost-effectiveness,theprocedureestimatesminimumlife-cyclecost,sumofinitialconstructioncostandexcepteddamagecistoverlife-cycleofthestructure.Theexpecteddamagecostisthefunctionoffailureprobabilities,whicharecomputedbyfrequencydomainanalysisforconvenience.Inputgroundmotionsarerepresentedbyapowerspectraldensityfunctioncompatiblewithsite-dependentresponsespectrums.Theinteractioneffectsbetweenflexiblewallsandcontainedfluidareconsideredintheformoftheaddedmassmatrix.Thethicknessofwallandthestiffnessofisolatorareconsideredtwokeydesignvariablesinachievingadesignwithminimumlife-cyclecost.Thenumericalexamplesshowthatseismicallyisolatedpooltanksarehighlycost-effectiveinlow-to-moderateseismicregions.