Document: NUREG-0800
Document ID: f48fc6fe-7c52-4612-b75c-034cedcfeb13
Document Type: srp
Title: STEEL CONTAINMENT
Source: NUREG-0800
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0520/ML052070325.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 3
Section ID: 3.8.2
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
ong as required for postulated accident conditions. The steel containment is designed, constructed, and tested to provide a leaktight barrier. A typical structure is made of steel plates that are shop fabricated and field welded. The plates are thickened around penetrations to compensate for the openings. Penetrations (e.g., personnel locks, equipment hatches, and mechanical and electrical penetrations) are designed in accordance with Section III, Subsection NE, of the ASME Code. Seals provided at the penetrations must be designed to maintain containment integrity for design basis accident conditions, including pressure, temperature, and radiation. Leaktightness of the containment structure must be tested at regular intervals during the life of the plant in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix J, as described in the SRP Section 6.2.6, "Containment Leakage Testing." Meeting these criteria provides assurance that an uncontrolled release of radioactivity to the environment will be prevented and that the design conditions of the reactor coolant pressure boundary will be maintained for as long as required. 3.8.2-19 DRAFT Rev. 2 - April 1996 5. Compliance with GDC 50 requires that the reactor containment structure (including access openings, penetrations, and containment heat removal systems) be designed so that the structure and its internal compartments will have the capability to accommodate, without exceeding the design leakage rate and with sufficient margin, the calculated pressure and temperature conditions resulting from any LOCA. These requirements apply to this SRP section because the containment structure design is based on the elastic behavior of the material used. That is, when a strength design approach is used, the structure is dimensioned so that the combination of loads multiplied by appropriate load factors will result in stresses within the ultimate strength of the structure. Design criteria for containment structures are provided