Siesmic Evaluation for Structural Integrity Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants

Simulated. Designed. Delivered.www.pro-sim.com Invited Lecture Delivered at ICNPG-2018, Hyderabad, 3-5, Oct, 2018
Dr. S Shamasundar,
ProSIM R&D Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore.
SEISMIC EVALUATION FOR STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT
OF SYSTEMS, STRUCTURES, AND COMPONENTS (SSCs) OF
NULEAR POWER PLANTS (NPPs)

ProSIM – A CAE/FEM/ Simulation
specialist R&D company
• Working with energy sector companies providing
collaborative R&D and engineering services.
• We augment engineering / R&D teams of our
customers and deliver value with our expertise and
deep domain knowledge

…in key service areas
Design
Hand Calculations
Design documentation
(3D /2D)
Simulation (FEM / CFD/
MBD/ Coupled, multi-
physics etc)
Optimisation
Code Check /
Evaluation
Seismic
Structural Integrity
evaluation
Seismic Margin
Assessment
Documentation per
codes (ASME, API,
RCC, PNAE, API, IS,
NEMA, DNV, etc)
Materials &
damage
modeling
Fatigue
fracture
creep
durability assessment
Lifing studies
Durability Assessment
Remaining Life
Assessment and
extension,
Failure Analysis
Expert advice in legal
arbitrations

ProSIM Work in Energy Areas
• Nuclear
– Seismic evaluation, documentation, design optimisation
– R&D (nuclear waste disposal, S
• Thermal Power Plants
– Remaining Life assessment (for all systems)
– Detailed engineering
– Fitness for service analysis
• Wind Turbines (and renewables)
– Design of Gear box, towers, nacelle, hub etc,
– Generator
• Oil and Gas
– Remaining life assessment
– Failure analysis
– Fitness for Service studies

How are we different…
 Ability to interact with approving agencies/ regulatory bodies / certifying
agencies /operators to provide hassle free experience to our customers
 Rich history of successfully delivered projects to NPCIL, BARC, IGCAR, ITER
 Experience in working with customers in USA, Europe, Japan, and Gulf
 52 qualified engineers with multidisciplinary areas.16 with PhD / M Tech / MS
level with diversified competencies in design concepts, material knowledge,
manufacturing and FEA techniques – to manage complex projects
 Top 5 people bring 25+ years of experience
 20+ interns (creating possibility to expand team quickly)
 Continuous improvement on documentation, processes, codes and standards
 Approved methodologies for many equipments
 In house developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and check
sheets
 Macros/scripts/sub-routines for evaluation developed to minimize human
effort and errors
 Well established project management procedures & quality practices
 Robust data / information security measures

Our Nuclear experience positions us well…
Experience in NPP Packages
• Design calculations and documentation
• Methodology development
• Design verification by simulation
o FEM analysis (stress, vibration,
o Thermal Analysis
o CFD (conjugate heat transfer, fluid structure interaction)
o Kinematics and dynamics
o Electro-magnetic analysis
o Materials and damage (fatigue, fracture, creep studies)
• Seismic evaluation and re-evaluation ( ASME B&PV Code,
RCC, PNAE, API, NEMA, IEEE, etc)
• Seismic margin assessment (SMA) and HCLPF calculation
• Remaining life assessment and extension (RLA/ RLE)
• Failure analysis/ root cause analysis
• Design of special purpose experimental test apparatus
• Nuclear Waste Re-cycling and disposal
Well rounded offerings for Nuclear Industry

Relationships with key players enable growth plans…

EPC
Contractors
Academics /
R&D
Tier-1/ Tier-2
Vendors
Plant
Operators
(NPCIL /
BHAVINI)
R&D
BARC /
IGCAR
Regulatory
Bodies (AERB)
Code
Committees
ASME/
PNAE/ RCC
/etc
ProSIM Engagements with Indian Nuclear Stakeholders
System
Integrators
ProSIM is playing
a crucial role
bridging all stake
holders in Indian
Nuclear Power
Sector

Some Key points about SAFETY
• All industries need proper SAFETY practice
– It is not just nuclear
• In sectors involving high temperature, high pressure, high
flammability, safety becomes all the more critical
• There are rules / acts / regulations of sovereign governments to
ensure and check SAFETY practices
• There are industry standards and codes that dictate design,
manufacture, operation and maintenance issues.
• Industry / professional bodies also give certifications to industries,
and personnel.

How Nuclear Power Plants
(NPPs) are different?
• As temperature, pressure etc, are defined, the NPPs are
similar to thermal power plants, and are governed by
ASME B&PV (or similar codes)
• Key differentiator of Nuclear power plants is the
consideration of seismic events in the design &
operation
• This driven by a need to contain the radio active
emission in the event of seismic event.

In the event of an earthquake
• Radiation leakage and effects have to be
minimised to the minimum (ALARA principle)
• Entire design, manufacture, operation philosophy
of NPPs is driven by this.
• There are multiple layers of safety assurance
Defence in Depth – DiD; supported by design
procedures and guidelines.

Safety assurance in
Nuclear Power Plants
• It is the responsibility of operator to ensure the safety of nuclear
power plant. (Level L4)
• Codes such as ASME/ RCC/ PNAE / IEEE etc., set standards
for design, manufacture, and operation of various systems,
structures, components of NPPs. (Level L3)
• Regulatory bodies such as AERB (atomic energy regulatory
board) set guidelines for design and operation (Level L2)
• Governments promulgate acts, sets rules and regulations (for
example Atomic Energy Act in India (level L1)

ProSIM expertise in
Seismic Evaluation for Nuclear Power Plants
• ProSIM has a center for excellence in Seismic Evaluation
of nuclear power plant systems.
• ProSIM has expertise in ASME/ RCC/ PNAE / IEEE / API
and similar codes.
• ProSIM has been working with nuclear power plant
operators, EPC contractors, nuclear research entities, and
system integrators
• ProSIM has expertise for design optimisation to ensure
seismic qualification

Past projects - Seismic Evaluation
Complete structural design of lattice
tower, and RCC foundation of DG set
chimney and site selection
DG set
•85 ton equipment (cannot be shake table
tested)
•Entire DG set with all accessories
seismically qualified
•ProSIM coordination with the system
integrator, tier-1/2 vendors; operators; and
site engineers
•Project delivered in record time frame

Past projects - Equipment
Storage tanks
Heat Exchangers
Pumps & Compressors
Flow control devices

Special Application Equipments
Evaporators
Electrolyser
Glove Box
Custom Designed
coolers

Piping in a nuclear set up
Iso metric view
Piping model
Stress contour

FE model
Seismic qualification of ECCS Compressor
Introduction:-
Emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) are designed to safely shut down a
nuclear reactor during accident conditions. The compressor is been used to
supply the compressed air to the next processes.

Functional operability check & Bearing load
bearing capacity checks
The compressor is a active
mechanical equipment & hence
the functional operability check
is performed to ensure that ,
there is sufficient Clarence
between the stationary &
rotating components of the
compressor.
The bearing are checked for
their load bearing capacity for
the seismic load cases
(Operating basis earth quake-
OBE & Safe Shutdown
Earthquake - SSE)

FE model
Seismic qualification of Control valves
Introduction:-
The Control valves are used in ECCS to control the fluid flow or for the over
pressure protection in the pipe line.

Summary
• ProSIM has expertise in seismic evaluation by
analysis using different codes
• ProSIM has completed more than 200 projects of
seismic evaluation
• Including mechanical equipment, piping and
pressure vessels, electrical, control &
instrumentation, concrete and steel structures.

Summary
• Safety of nuclear power plants is ensured by the
operator subjects to the regulatory framework set
by regulatory authorities, and the law of the land.
• Professional bodies set standards and codes
(such as ASME B&PV, RCC, PNAE, IEEE etc.,) of
practice for safe design, manufacture, operation of
nuclear power plants.

Summary
• Nuclear power plants design philosophy is based
on defence-in-depth (DiD), which ensure safety,
• During the occurrence of a seismic event, the
philosophy of seismic evaluation based design of
SSCs of NPPs is to minimise the radiation leakage

Contact for further details
Dr S Shamasundar
Managing Director, ProSIM
B-378/1; Ring Road, Peenya 1st Stage,
Bangalore 560058
Email shama@pro-sim.com
Cell: +91 98455 94093
Landline: +91 80 6816 0001 Board: +91 80 6816 0000
URL: www.pro-sim.com

Siesmic Evaluation for Structural Integrity Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants

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