OECD/NEA/CSNI Benchmark ASCET Phase II: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Abstract of presentation presented at:
U.S. NRC RIC 2018
March 14, 2018

Preapred by:
Neb Orbovic
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract:

The CSNI CAPS ASCET is a research activity established to make general recommendations for aging management of concrete nuclear facilities, taking into account the effect of concrete pathologies on structural degradation.

There is a need for reliable numerical tools to predict the behaviour, as a function of time, of structures with concrete degradation mechanisms, in order to assess and quantify their ultimate and serviceability limit states.

The multi-year ASCET program was organized in three phases to provide these tools:

• Phase I: Addressing general guidance regarding ageing management and research needs – completed
• Phase II: Perform a blind numerical benchmark – completed
• Phase III: Adjusting and refining numerical tools by using additional test data – ongoing

The benchmark was based on the wall tests performed at the University of Toronto under a CNSC research program. The test results of two sets of two walls (one sound and one with alkali-silica reaction in each set), with two different ages, were provided for this benchmark.

The analysis results of the ASCET Phase II mainly focused on the ultimate wall capacity. The ultimate capacity was well predicted by all participants. The next planned phase of the ASCET benchmark should focus on evaluation of: displacements, deformations, the failure modes, the crack pattern, crack width and crack distribution.

A new phase, ASCET Phase III Benchmark, is in place, and the next workshop will be held at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) in Paris on April 16 and 17, 2018.

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