Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Kimberly W. Kramer / This report explores the requirements for the design and analysis of concrete containment and shows how newer material technologies such as self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and fiber reinforcement could assist in the constructability and durability of new nuclear power plant facilities. SCC for example, enables concrete to flow in the forms around the reinforcement and provides a more uniform adhesion with the reinforcement. Additionally, fiber reinforcement in the concrete mix increases bonding capability, thus making the concrete less likely to fracture. In particular, the ease of constructability benefits offshore floating nuclear power plants and preapproved modular power plants. To differentiate, the offshore plant would employ the assembly line to make all the plants the same while the modular plant, designed to be used anywhere, is not site specific and is typically smaller. Regarding research method, the report starts with the history of the nuclear industry in the United States, including the last nuclear power plant constructed, clarifying that nuclear energy was first harnessed for a submarine propulsion system before being employed to generate electricity. After these early endeavors, two major accidents, Three Mile Island (March 28, 1979) and Chernobyl (April 26, 1986), provided information regarding the lack of safety of nuclear power plant design and operation. Since the containment building is the focus of this report, recognizing the loads and the load combinations for design was the next step in research. Following that, the next step was to determine the design considerations and analyze the containment structure. New material technologies clearly have opened the door to new construction techniques, and the combination of new materials and methods offers structural engineers opportunity to build inherently safer nuclear power plants.

<p>Simulation of the planing hull in waves has been addressed during the last 25 years and basically been approached by strip methods. This work follows that tradition and describes a time-domain strip model for simulation of the planing hull in waves. The actual fluid mechanical problem is simplified through the strip approach. The load distribution acting on the hull is approximated by determining the section load at a number of hull sections, strips. The section-wise 2-dimensional calculations are expressed in terms of added mass coefficients and used in the formulations of both inertia and excitation forces in the equations of motions. The modeling approach starts from the hypothetic assumption that the transient conditions can be modeled based on those section-wise calculations. The equation of motion is solved in the time-domain. The equation is up-dated at each time step and every iteration step with respect to the momentary distribution of section draught and relative incident velocity between the hull and water and catches the characteristic non-linear behavior of the planing craft in waves.</p><p>The model follows the principles of the pioneering work of E. E. Zarnick differing on model structure and in details such as the modeling of the lift in the transom area. A major part of the work is concerned with experiments and evaluation of simulations with respect to performed model tests and to published experiment data. Simulations of model tests have been performed and comparisons have been made between measured and simulated time series. The link between simulation and experiment is a wave model which is based on a wave height measurement signal. It is developed and evaluated in the thesis.</p><p>The conclusions are in favor of the 2-dimensional approach to modeling the conditions for the planing hull in waves and among further studies is evaluation of simulated loads and motions to full-scale trial measurement data.</p>

Simulation of the planing hull in waves has been addressed during the last 25 years and basically been approached by strip methods. This work follows that tradition and describes a time-domain strip model for simulation of the planing hull in waves. The actual fluid mechanical problem is simplified through the strip approach. The load distribution acting on the hull is approximated by determining the section load at a number of hull sections, strips. The section-wise 2-dimensional calculations are expressed in terms of added mass coefficients and used in the formulations of both inertia and excitation forces in the equations of motions. The modeling approach starts from the hypothetic assumption that the transient conditions can be modeled based on those section-wise calculations. The equation of motion is solved in the time-domain. The equation is up-dated at each time step and every iteration step with respect to the momentary distribution of section draught and relative incident velocity between the hull and water and catches the characteristic non-linear behavior of the planing craft in waves. The model follows the principles of the pioneering work of E. E. Zarnick differing on model structure and in details such as the modeling of the lift in the transom area. A major part of the work is concerned with experiments and evaluation of simulations with respect to performed model tests and to published experiment data. Simulations of model tests have been performed and comparisons have been made between measured and simulated time series. The link between simulation and experiment is a wave model which is based on a wave height measurement signal. It is developed and evaluated in the thesis. The conclusions are in favor of the 2-dimensional approach to modeling the conditions for the planing hull in waves and among further studies is evaluation of simulated loads and motions to full-scale trial measurement data.

High-speed craft are in high demand in the maritime industry, for example, in maintenance operations for offshore structures, for search and rescue, for patrolling operations, or as leisure craft to deliver speed and excitement. Design and operation of high-speed craft are often governed by the hydrodynamic phenomena of slamming, which occur when the craft impact the wave surface. Slamming loads affect the high-speed craft system; the crew, the structure and various sub-systems and limit the operation. To meet the ever-increasing demands on safety, economy and reduced environmental impact, there is a need to develop more efficient high-speed craft. This progression is however limited by the prevailing semi-empirical design methods for high-speed planing craft structures. These methods provide only a basic description of the involved physics, and their validity has been questioned. This thesis contributes to improving the conditions for designing efficient highspeed craft by focusing on two key topics: evaluation and development of the prevailing design methods for high-speed craft structures, and development towards structural design based on first principles modeling of the slamming process. In particular a methodological framework that enables detailed studies of the slamming phenomena using numerical simulations and experimental measurements is synthesized and evaluated. The methodological framework involves modeling of the wave environment, the craft hydromechanics and structural mechanics, and statistical characterization of the response processes. The framework forms the foundation for an extensive evaluation and development of the prevailing semi-empirical design methods for high-speed planing craft. Through the work presented in this thesis the framework is also shown to be a viable approach in the introduction of simulation-based design methods based on first principles modeling of the involved physics. Summarizing, the presented methods and results provide important steppingstones towards designing more efficient high-speed planing craft. / <p>QC 20160907</p>

The development in structural design and construction of high-speed craft has been extensive during the last decades. Environmental and economical issues have increased the need to develop more optimized structures, using new material concepts, to reduce weight and increase performance efficiency. However, both lack of, and limitations in design methodology, makes this a difficult task. In this thesis a methodological framework which enables detailed studies of the slamming loads and associated responses for high-speed planing craft in irregular waves is established. The slamming loads can either be formulated based on numerical simulations, or on experimental measurements and pressure distribution reconstruction. Structure responses are derived in the time-domain using finite element analysis. Statistical methods are used to determine design loads and lifetime extreme responses. The framework is applied to perform phenomenological studies of the slamming loading conditions for high-speed craft, and used to highlight and quantify the limitations in the prevailing semi-empirical method for design load determination with respect to slamming. A number of clarifications regarding the original derivation and the applicability of the prevailing semi-empirical method are presented. Finally, several potential improvements to the method are presented and the associated implications discussed. The long-term goal of the research project is to establish a method for direct calculation of loads and response for high-speed planing craft, which can enable design of truly efficient craft structures. The methodology and the results presented in this thesis are concluded to be important stepping-stones towards this goal. / <p>In page VII, Paper B is wrong title. The correct title is "Experiental Evaluation of Slamming Pressure Models Used in Structural Design of High-Speed Craft". QC 20130228</p>