Techniques used in static pneumatic pressure experiments on models of a generic steel containment building

The objectives and overall characteristics of the Containment Integrity Program (CIP) are discussed by Blejwas, von Riesemann and Costello. This paper discusses the techniques used in the first series of experiments conducted in the program. The basic approach is to conduct experiments on small models of containment buildings and to analyze the containment building models in detail before each experiment. This procedure is designed to establish the ability of extant codes to analyze the containment model behavior. A study of reactor containment structures was conducted early in this program. The purpose of this study was to identify the types of containment structures used in operating reactors and also to identify trends in future construction.