Seismic Performance of Nuclear Reactor Structure Through Soil Structure Interaction

Abstract This study examines the seismic performance of nuclear containment structures on a layered fine sand to Hard rock. The research explores the intricate dynamics of nonlinear soil behaviour during earthquakes and its significant impact on soil-structure interactions. This analysis considers the inherent nonlinearity of the containment structure and the soil under various conditions, utilizing models such as the heterogeneous elastic soil model and heterogeneous mech mohr model. These models incorporate varying properties and are implemented using the FLAC 3D software. Notably, the proportions of the heterogeneous soil model, silty clayey soil model, and dense sand soil model are 83.17%, 85.42%, and 25.93%, respectively. An interesting observation is that the silty clayey model exhibits a higher poisson’s ratio (0.42) than the Hard Rock Model (0.24), resulting in a lower vertical stress a zz in the Silty Clayey Model. The study found that some soil models are more effective under certain loading conditions. This provides new insights into how to best apply these models for accurate soil-structure interaction (SSI) modelling. This enhanced understanding of the capabilities of different soil models under various conditions is valuable for future research and has significant implications for practical applications in geotechnical earthquake engineering, especially for the safety of nuclear structure in seismic-prone regions.