Study on the dynamic response of reinforced concrete nuclear containment under the impact of large aircraft

Since the 9/11 incident, the research on nuclear power plants (NPPs) against the impact of large aircraft has gradually become the key research content in the field of national defense. Based on the experimental data, this paper establishes a refined finite element (FE) model to investigate the dynamic response and failure mode of nuclear containment under the impact of large aircraft. Firstly, the FE model is established according to the scale test, and its accuracy is verified. Then, the prototype nuclear containment is established, and the effects of aircraft impact speed, impact angle, and impact height on the dynamic response of nuclear containment are discussed. The results reveal that when the impact velocity of the aircraft is greater than 250 m/s, the fuselage, except the wing, penetrates into the nuclear containment. When the impact velocity reaches 300 m/s, the penetration size of the structure decreases. The increase in impact angle will significantly decrease the damage caused by aircraft to the structure. When an aircraft with a speed of 100 m/s impacts the nuclear containment at less than 30 degrees, the fuselage will penetrate into the containment. In addition, this paper summarizes two distinct failure modes of aircraft impact on nuclear containment, which provides a reference for research related to aircraft impact on nuclear containment.