Research of Ultimate Bearing Characteristics for Equipment Hatch of Nuclear Power Plant under External Pressure

The ultimate bearing characteristics of the equipment hatch under the external pressure was studied by the finite element analysis method. The parametric calculation model was established in ANSYS, and the external pressure ultimate load of the equipment gate head was obtained by nonlinear buckling analysis. The calculated results were similar to those of the empirical formula, which verified the reliability and effectiveness of the finite element analysis method. The sensitivity of the design parameters affecting the ultimate bearing characteristics of the external pressure was studied, and the changing law of the influence was summarized. The example of the optimization design showed the practicability of the research method and could provide the optimization scheme for the structural design of the equipment hatch.