Publications Details
Plans for containment bellows testing under extreme loads
Piping penetrations in nuclear power plant steel containments are surrounded by flexible metal bellows. The purpose of the bellows is to maintain the containment pressure boundary integrity while permitting relative movement between the piping and the containment wall. In a severe accident, bellows may be subjected to high temperatures, pressure, and combinations of lateral and axial deflections. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), under sponsorship of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), is performing a series of tests to investigate the performance of containment bellows under severe accident conditions.