Structural Integrity Assessment of the Pump Shaft Assembly of the APR1400 Reactor Coolant Pump

The RCP (Reactor Coolant Pump) is operated in high speed and high pressure conditions. Therefore, the problem of vibration has arisen caused by the hydraulic forces of the working fluid. These forces can drastically alter the critical speeds and stability characteristics, and can act as significant destabilizing forces. In this study, the structural integrity of the pump shaft of APR1400 RCP estimated under normal operation and accident conditions. In order to predict the vibration behavior and dynamic characteristics, modal and critical speed analysis were performed. For evaluation due to the load cases, stress characteristics were investigated. This paper shows that the 1st critical speed occurs at over rotational speed range and the calculation and analysis result of the pump shaft satisfied the code requirement.Copyright © 2010 by ASME