Earthquake-Related Activities at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Dr. Annie Kammerer

China Earthquake Administration

Representatives’ Visit with NEHRP

Agencies

National Science Foundation HQ

December 2011

•The nuclear renaissance & Fukushima response

•Overview of the NRC & where research fits

•The purpose and structure of NRC seismic

research program

•Current & upcoming research topics

•Opportunities for coordination

Presentation Contents

• 1950s to 1970s US built plants

• 1979 Three Mile Island Accident

• 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

• 435 nuclear plants in 30 countries

generating 16% of total power (104 in US)

• Changes in energy policy •New financial incentives in US energy policy

•Certified design concept becomes law

•Time limits on NRC response

History

• Possibly 35 new reactors in coming years

• Approximately 23 applications have already

come into the NRC

•Early site permits

•New plant Combined Operating Licenses

•Design Certification Documentation

• 3 Early site permits and 1 Certified Design

already issued

• Pre-submission meetings on advanced

reactors designs

Now – “the nuclear renaissance”

Submitted applications

Fukushima

Lessons Learned

Report with

Significant

Recommendations

for changing NRC

regulations and

practices

NRC

ML111861807

• The NRC has principally deterministically-based

regulations with risk assessments used for

consideration of defense-in-depth for beyond-

design-basis events. Plants are deterministically

designed but have to show acceptable risk

through a SPRA before fuel loading.

• Recommendation 1: Establish a logical,

systematic, and coherent regulatory framework

for adequate protection that appropriately

balances defense-in-depth and risk

considerations.

NRC NTTF Recommendations

• Recommendation 2: Require Licensees to

reevaluate and upgrade as necessary the

design-basis seismic and flooding protection of

SSCs for each operating reactor • 2.1 Order licensees to reevaluate the seismic and

flooding hazards at their sates against current

NRC requirements and guidance, and if necessary

update the design basis and SSCs important to

safety to protect against the updated hazards

(note: the NRC already had GI-199)

NRC NTTF Recommendations

• 2.2 Initiate rulemaking to require licensees to

confirm seismic hazards and flooding hazards

every 10 years and address any new and

significant information. If necessary update the

design basis for SSCs important to safety to protect

against updated hazards.

• 2.3 Order Licensees to perform seismic and

flood protection walkdowns to identify & address

plant-specific vulnerabilities and verify the

adequacy of monitoring and maintenance for

protection features…

NRC NTTF Recommendations

Point

“Site” R

fR(r)

+ + =

SSCs

Chapter 2 Earth Science & Natural Hazards

Chapter 3 Earthquake Engineering

Ch

ap

ter

4 In

tern

ati

on

al A

cti

vit

ies

Ch

ap

ter

5 R

eg

ula

tory

Gu

ide

s

Contents of the Research Program Plan

Seismic Hazard Assessment

• Central and Eastern US Seismic Source Characterization project for Nuclear Facilities (CEUS SSC)

Source Characterization

• Next Generation Attenuation Relationships for the Central and Eastern (NGA-East)

Ground motion prediction equations

• Practical Application of the SSHAC Guidelines

PSHA process guidance

Seismic Hazard Assessment

• Central and Eastern US Seismic Source Characterization project for Nuclear Facilities (CEUS SSC)

Source Characterization

• Next Generation Attenuation Relationships for the Central and Eastern (NGA-East)

Ground motion prediction equations

• Practical Application of the SSHAC Guidelines

PSHA process guidance

NEARLY

DONE

NEARLY

DONE

Earthquake Engineering

• Site Response • Seismic Isolation

• Small Modular Reactors

• SSI modeling of NPPs under non-traditional loads

• Correlated seismic performance of similar SSCs

• Technology-neutral performance-based risk-informed framework for seismic design and review

• Dynamic earth pressures on deep foundations

• Testing and modeling of multidirectional cohesionless soils

Current Research

Earthquake Engineering

• Fully probabilistic SSI analyses

• True dispersion of SSC response

• Ground motion selection for NPPs

• Fully randomized geologic profiles

• Response of deep soil sites

• Next generation seismic probabilistic risk assessments

• Improved plant-level fragility and HCLPF assessments

Identified future NRC research topics

Opportunities for Cooperation: SI

Prepared by: A. M. Kammerer1,

A. S .Whittaker2, M. C.

Constantinou2

1US NRC 2University of Buffalo

With information/submissions

by JNES and EdF

Current draft 95% complete

Goal of today’s meeting is to present

the technical content of the

document and take questions.

• In 2008 NRC began new research in SI

• NRC research is addressing key items

• Vertical and beyond-design-basis loading

• Numerical model development for NRC’s in-house analytical tool (NRC ESSI Simulator)

• Developed performance-based criteria for regulation of NPPs using seismic isolation systems

• Testing of isolator systems on eDefense shaketable to confirm analysis tools, models, and assumptions (testing performed, but not yet used to validate isolator models)

• Sensitivity study on isolator mechanical properties

Opportunities for Cooperation: SI

NGA-East

• Next Generation Attenuation Relationships

for Central and Eastern North America

(participation by Canada, Australia & other

countries in stable continental regions)

• SSHAC Level 3 project to be complete 2014

• Managed and led by the Pacific Earthquake

Engineering Research Center at University

of California, Berkeley

NGA-East

• Complex study with significant research and

development components

• Global SCR database being collected and

beneficial research for SCRs globally

• New work in geotechnics, source inversion,

and a large number of simulations to

complement limited earthquake database

NGA-East

NGA-East

Simplified

Flow Chart

of Activities

• Complete project plan, videos and

presentations from past workshops, and

other documentation available on-line

• http://peer.berkeley.edu/ngaeast/

Title Goes Here

Thank You

Earthquake-Related Activities at the

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission