The seismic design rules for nuclear power plant piping systems that have been in practice since the 1960s have been applied to hundreds of piping supports and seismic restraints for nuclear power plants. This quantity of seismic hardware brings about design and operational difficulties at nuclear power plants that include:
excessive plant congestion that limits access for inspection and maintenance;
plant staff facing increased radiation exposure while accessing equipment for inspection or maintenance;
an unnecessary constraint of the thermal expansion of the pipes during normal operation;
a high cost for the plant’s initial construction;
a high inspection and maintenance cost during the plant’s lifetime.
Most national nuclear codes currently consider seismic inertial load to be purely primary.
This report documents the third part of the MECOS programme, which was the development of proposals for improved seismic design methods for nuclear power plant piping systems.
NEA (2024), Metallic Component Margins under High Seismic Loads (MECOS): Towards a New Approach for Seismic Design of Piping Systems, OECD Publishing, Paris
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on 12/11/24 at 5:18 PM
