Fluid-Structure Interaction in Seismic Analysis of Fuel Storage Systems
Summary
Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) plays a pivotal role in the seismic assessment of fuel storage systems, where the dynamic coupling between contained fluids and surrounding structural elements governs overall response and safety. In nuclear power plants and oil depots, above-ground tanks, underground caverns and submerged spent-fuel racks all experience hydrodynamic pressures, added inertia and energy dissipation effects under earthquake loading. Accurate modelling of these phenomena demands the integration of computational fluid dynamics with finite-element structural solvers, encompassing both potential-flow approximations for sloshing and fully viscous treatments for damping. Key challenges include capturing nonlinear contact, sliding, rocking and overturning behaviours of storage modules, accommodating asymmetric geometries and varying fill levels, and ensuring convergence and stability of time-domain solutions. Advances in modal decomposition techniques, refined mesh strategies and experimental validation are driving more reliable predictions of seismic fragility, underpinning design codes and automated risk assessments. The global significance of this research lies in safeguarding critical fuel inventories, preventing environmental contamination and maintaining energy security under seismic hazard scenarios.
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Fluid-Structure Interaction in Seismic Analysis of Fuel Storage Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in fluid-structure interaction in seismic analysis of fuel storage systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Fluid-structure interaction (FSI): The mutual influence between fluid motion and structural deformation under dynamic loads.
Added mass: Apparent increase in inertia of a structure due to acceleration of the surrounding fluid.
Modal effective mass: Projection of total mass onto a specific vibration mode, accounting for fluid coupling.
Hydrodynamic coupling: Interaction forces transmitted between fluid and structure through pressure and viscous effects.
Time-history dynamic analysis: Numerical simulation of structural response to specified seismic acceleration records over time.
Overturning acceleration: Lateral seismic acceleration threshold at which a structure begins to tip or rotate about its support.
References
- Definition and calculation method of modal effective mass of asymmetric fluid-structure interaction system for seismic analysis. Nuclear Engineering and Technology (2023).
- Estimation of added effects and their frequency dependence in various fluid–structure interaction problems. Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering (2024).
- The Sliding and Overturning Analysis of Spent Fuel Storage Rack Based on Dynamic Analysis Model. Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations (2016).
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