Publications
Structural integrity analysis of the degraded drywell containment at the Oyster Creek Nuclear generating station
This study examines the effects of the degradation experienced in the steel drywell containment at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. Specifically, the structural integrity of the containment shell is examined in terms of the stress limits using the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code, Section III, Division I, Subsection NE, and examined in terms of buckling (stability) using the ASME B&PV Code Case N-284. Degradation of the steel containment shell (drywell) at Oyster Creek was first observed during an outage in the mid-1980s. Subsequent inspections discovered reductions in the shell thickness due to corrosion throughout the containment. Specifically, significant corrosion occurred in the sandbed region of the lower sphere. Since the presence of the wet sand provided an environment which supported corrosion, a series of analyses were conducted by GE Nuclear Energy in the early 1990s. These analyses examined the effects of the degradation on the structural integrity. The current study adopts many of the same assumptions and data used in the previous GE study. However, the additional computational recourses available today enable the construction of a larger and more sophisticated structural model.