Numerical Simulation System “Three-Dimensional Virtual Plant Vibration Simulator” for Nuclear Plants by Using Assembled Structural Analysis

Accidents such as oil-tank fires and breakage of members of civil structures caused by the earthquakes have occurred during the past several years. Reliability is expected to maintain the safety of infrastructures like nuclear plants. We have focused on the construction of an analysis system called the “three-dimensional virtual plant vibration simulator,” which is a numerical simulation system for a nuclear plant which considers the interconnection of machines, pipes, buildings, and their foundations under real operating conditions. In this paper, as the first step of this simulation system, the “assembled structural analysis” is proposed in which each structural component is treated independently and analyzed as an assembly structure. The system configurations in a parallel distribution environment are described. This study shows an example of the application of this method to a real nuclear-plant cooling system that has tens of millions of degrees of freedom.