Overview
![](/assets/images/picto-drapeau-france-3a76576a5d60a512053b4612ab58dae5.png)
ABSTRACT
Reinforced concrete is the most widely used material in nuclear power plants: reactor confinement, cooling towers, spent fuel pools, basement raft, operations buildings, biological shield, and pipes. These reinforced concrete structures are exposed to a variety of environmental conditions, and to thermal, chemical, hydrological, radiological, and mechanical stresses. Therefore, it is crucial to be able to understand, model, forecast, monitor and maintain these structures in the best operational conditions for the longest possible time. This article is a summary of knowledge available on this topic.
Read this article from a comprehensive knowledge base, updated and supplemented with articles reviewed by scientific committees.
Read the articleAUTHORS
-
Valérie L'HOSTIS: Senior expert on the durability of concrete structures - Energy Programs Department, Institutional Partnerships Unit - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergie alternatives (CEA Paris-Saclay), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
-
Laurent CHARPIN: Research Engineer, Group Leader - EDF Lab Chatou, Chatou, France
INTRODUCTION
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. This material is combined with passive reinforcements (reinforcement) and sometimes active reinforcements (prestressing tendons). The composite material thus formed can be used to build resistant structures with complex shapes, making it the material of choice for construction.
This material is widely used in the nuclear industry, both in nuclear power plants and downstream of the fuel cycle for nuclear waste storage.
The basic components of concrete are water, cement and aggregates of various sizes (sand, pebbles). The aggregates used are generally local, due to transport costs. As a result, formulations are not homogeneous either in time or space. Every concrete is different.
What's more, each concrete structure is exposed to different environmental conditions, depending on whether it's in a hotter or cooler region, more or less humid, by the sea, subject to frost and de-icing salts, and in contact with different types of soil.
Assessing the service life of concrete structures is therefore a difficult task, requiring an overall view of the pathologies and physical phenomena that can affect concrete, and of the loads (mechanical and environmental) imposed on a given structure.
Finally, in the nuclear context, some of the concrete structures that make up a nuclear power plant play an important role in safety. In addition to the economic impact of plant unavailability, failure of these structures would have consequences for the risk of radioactive releases into the environment in the event of an accident. This is the case, for example, with containment structures.
As a result, nuclear operators are studying the pathologies affecting the concrete of their structures, so as to be able to assess the residual lifespan of structures, and the appropriate maintenance operations to extend that lifespan.
This article begins by presenting the concrete structures for which durability issues have been identified and studied, such as containment vessels, cooling towers, fuel storage pools, reinforced concrete pipelines, water intake structures and vessel shafts. For each of these structures, the relevant ageing mechanisms are briefly described.
Secondly, the material concrete is presented in greater detail: the main characteristics of its constituents, in particular cement, are explained, as well as the principle of the hydration reaction which enables concrete to harden when cement is placed in the presence of water. Metallic materials frequently used in conjunction with concrete, such as reinforcing bars, prestressing tendons and metal liners, are also described....
Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!
You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!
Already subscribed? Log in!
![](/assets/images/logo-eti-286623ed91fa802ce039246e516e5852.png)
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
KEYWORDS
reinforced concrete | ageing management | structural performane | maintenance
This article is included in
Nuclear engineering
This offer includes:
Knowledge Base
Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees
Services
A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources
Practical Path
Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills
Doc & Quiz
Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading
Concrete durability at French nuclear power plants
Bibliography
Standards and norms
- Concrete – Specification, performance, production and compliance. - NF EN 206 - 2014
- Cement – Part 1: Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements. - NF EN 197-1 - 2012
- Steel for reinforced concrete – Weldable steels – Part 1: bars and crowns. - NF A 35-080 - 2020
Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!
You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!
Already subscribed? Log in!
![](/assets/images/logo-eti-286623ed91fa802ce039246e516e5852.png)
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference