Seismic behavior of a free-standing core in a large LMFBR

This paper describes a study on the seismic analysis and qualification of an LMFBR core. A non-linear response analysis method with FINAS is validated by comparing its results to a set of existing experimental data. The method is then applied to assess the seismic response and safety capacity of some typical configurations of a large free-standing core, under various seismic inputs including a case of base isolation. Some discussions are made on the possibility of the free-standing core.