Modular construction mechanics of a European pressurized reactor steel containment liner

A European pressurized reactor (EPR) steel containment liner structure is comprised of the cylinder part and the dome part. An introduction of the steel liner structure is presented, followed by studies on the key mechanical features of the construction process using a refined finite element method. The steel liner was divided into several modules and then assembled during construction. Firstly, the equipment structure used to hoist the liner module was optimized, the lifting lug was analyzed using a multi-scale finite element model; the wind speed limit during lifting was also studied. Subsequently, the effect of internal forces during assembly between the liner modules, the lateral pressure of fresh concrete, the non-uniform temperature load, and the wind load on the cylinder module was analyzed. According to the time-varying structural performance during continuous concrete pouring and the hardening construction, an “overlapping element and birth-death element” technique was adopted to analyze the deformation and stress of the long-span steel dome liner. In addition, the stability-bearing capacities of the dome structure during construction were also studied, which took into consideration the effect of the initial geometrical imperfections and the elasto-plasticity of the material. This study presents a reference in terms of the mechanics of the construction scheme and the safety of such a type of structure.