Distributed plasticity approach for nonlinear analysis of nuclear power plant equipment: Experimental and numerical studies

Numerical modeling for the safety-related equipment used in a nuclear power plant (i.e., cabinet facilities) plays an essential role in seismic risk assessment. A full finite element model is often time-consuming for nonlinear time history analysis due to its computational modeling complexity. Thus, this study aims to generate a simplified model that can capture the nonlinear behavior of the electrical cabinet. Accordingly, the distributed plasticity approach was utilized to examine the stiffness-degradation effect caused by the local buckling of the structure. The inherent dynamic characteristics of the numerical model were validated against the experimental test. The outcomes indicate that the proposed model can adequately represent the significant behavior of the structure, and it is preferred in practice to perform the nonlinear analysis of the cabinet. Further investigations were carried out to evaluate the seismic behavior of the cabinet under the influence of the constitutive law of material models. Three available models in OpenSees (i.e., linear, bilinear, and Giuffre-Menegotto-Pinto (GMP) model) were considered to provide an enhanced understating of the seismic responses of the cabinet. It was found that the material nonlinearity, which is the function of its smoothness, is the most effective parameter for the structural analysis of the cabinet. Also, it showed that implementing nonlinear models reduces the seismic response of the cabinet considerably in comparison with the linear model.