TESTING AND ANALYSES TO INVESTIGATE LINER TEARING OF THE 1/6-SCALE REINFORCED-CONCRETE CONTAINMENT BUILDING

The overpressurization of a 1:6-scale reinforced concrete containment building demonstrated that liner tearing is an important failure mode. A combined experimental and analytical program was developed to determine the important parameters that contribute to liner tearing. Three sets of test specimens were designed to investigate the mechanisms important in causing failure. The tests investigated effects produced by the anchorage system, loading conditions, and transition in thickness from the liner to insert plate. Before testing, the specimens were analyzed using two- and three-dimensional finite element models. Based on the analysis, the failure mode and load conditions were predicted. Test data and posttest examination show mixed agreement with the analytical predictions. Many similarities were observed between the response of the liner in the 1:6-scale reinforced concrete containment model and the response of the test specimens. This work illustrates that the failure mechanism can be greatly influenced by details of liner and anchorage system design. Furthermore, it significantly increases the understanding of containment building response under severe conditions.