Proposal of a Nonlinear Spring Model on Piping Support Structures for an Elastoplastic Response Analysis Method

Abstract In probabilistic risk assessment against earthquakes for nuclear power plants, developing a realistic response analysis method for the fragility assessment of piping systems considering input seismic motions exceeding the design assumptions is important. Piping systems typically exhibit complex three-dimensional shapes, and the arrangement and stiffness of the piping support structures significantly affect the response characteristics of the entire piping system. Therefore, developing a realistic response analysis method for piping systems, including support structures is necessary. In this study, a method is proposed for modeling the elastoplastic hysteresis characteristics of piping support structures to establish a seismic response analysis method for piping systems, including support structures. First, the authors propose an elastoplastic spring model that can express the elastoplastic hysteresis characteristics of a piping support structure. Subsequently, using this model, the authors perform a simulation analysis for the loading test of a piping support structure. The analysis and test results correlated well, confirming the effectiveness of the proposal of the model. The main contents, including the proposal of the elastoplastic spring model, the simulation analysis of the loading test, and the comparison between the analysis solutions and the test results, are reported in this paper.