Containment buckling program. [PWR; BWR]

The Containment Buckling program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is aimed at evaluating the adequacy of the current design procedures for free standing steel nuclear containment shells against static and dynamic structural instability. Such buckling behavior will typically produce large displacements in the shell wall that will potentially violate seals around hatches and penetrations, or even produce puncture or tearing of the shell wall resulting in a loss of containment function. The ultimate goal of the program is to provide NRC with a basis for evaluating the associated licensing issues and to recommend appropriate changes and additions to the NRC Review Criteria.