Development of a Core Seismic Analysis Method for a Fast Reactor

A fast reactor core consists of several hundreds of core assemblies, which are hexagonal flexible beams embedded at the lower support plate in a hexagonal arrangement, separated by small gaps, and immersed in a fluid. Core assemblies have no support for vertical fixing in order to avoid the influence of thermal expansion and swelling. These days, in Japan, it has become necessary to postulate huge earthquakes in seismic evaluations. If a great earthquake occurs, the large displacement and impact force in each core assembly may cause problems with control rod insertability and core assembly strength. So, it is necessary to grasp the vibration behavior of the core elements during an earthquake in order to appropriately design the core support structures and core elements of a fast reactor. Thus, considering horizontal and vertical forces (impact forces and fluid forces) acting on the core elements during an earthquake, a core seismic analysis method has been developed to evaluate 3D core vibration behavior considering fluid structure interaction and vertical displacements (rising). This paper summarizes the details of the core element vibration analysis code in 3D (REVIAN-3D) that has been developed.