Criteria for High Frequency Cutoff Based on ABWR Reactor Building Vibratory Loads

Abstract

In the seismic analysis practice, the calculation of modal response has traditionally been limited to a cutoff frequency of about 33 Hz based on United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.60 [1] response spectra. The structural response in higher modes is calculated as a missing mass correction by static analysis. Seismic ground motions at several sites (such as Central and Eastern United States) exhibit high frequency content, up to about 100 Hz. Additionally, the reactor building vibratory (RBV) loads that result from the suppression pool hydrodynamic loads due to loss of coolant accident (LOCA), and the annulus pressurization (AP) load from a postulated pipe break at the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) safe ends and shield wall generate peaks at frequencies in excess of 100 Hz. The qualification of safety equipment supported in the reactor building needs to reflect these high frequency motions. Extracting frequencies and mode shapes up to zero period acceleration (ZPA) frequencies in these cases may not be practical or economical. Therefore, the cutoff frequency criteria for these types of high frequency loads need to be evaluated so that the analysis produces a representative and a reasonably conservative response. In this study, the equipment response is described in terms of stress quantities, member forces, and moments resulting from the solution up to a cutoff frequency. The responses are compared to the full solution up to the ZPA frequency under hydrodynamic and AP loads using the Response Spectrum Method. The cutoff frequency is deemed adequate if the ratio of the truncated response considering missing mass to the full response is 90% or greater. The internal strain energy (or its surrogate kinetic energy) for all modes with frequencies below the cutoff is also studied to assess the missing strain energy in modes in excess of the cutoff. The evaluation presented also examines how well the strain energy correlates with calculated stresses.