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DS PLM SUCCESS STORY - TÜV SÜD: Certifying nuclear power plants with Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation
Applicable Functions
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Predictive Maintenance
Services
- Testing & Certification
The Challenge
TÜV SÜD, a leading global technical service corporation in Filderstadt, Germany, is responsible for independently testing, inspecting, and certifying nuclear facilities for licensing by the German government. The company needed to ensure the safety of nuclear plant reactors by identifying and correcting problems that threaten the longevity of the plants. The systems, structures, and components of nuclear plants can change with time and use. Components can wear out, corrode, or degrade; instrument and control systems may become obsolete as technologies evolve. The properties of critical materials may change through heat and neutron irradiation. Identifying and correcting longevity issues can extend the operating license of a plant by several decades, which is why upgrading older facilities is a major focus of nuclear regulatory bodies and plant operators.
About The Customer
TÜV SÜD is a leading global technical service corporation based in Filderstadt, Germany. The company is responsible for independently testing, inspecting, and certifying nuclear facilities for licensing by the German government. Their work involves identifying and correcting longevity issues that help extend the operating license of a plant and that ensure new facilities a lifetime of safe operation. The company's goal is to ensure that the structural integrity and operational management of nuclear facilities are secured far into the future, regardless of the type or age of the plant.
The Solution
To assist in the evaluation of nuclear plant integrity, TÜV SÜD relies on Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA. The company uses Abaqus to analyze stress loads over a wide range of scenarios such as rapid temperature and/or pressure changes, airplane impact, earthquakes, and radiation embrittlement. The software is used to analyze everything from key mechanical components - including pumps, piping systems, vessels, supports, and tanks - to fuel assemblies, building structures, and lifting devices. TÜV engineers used Abaqus/CAE to build and mesh computer models of the vessel and the four water pipe nozzles that fed into it. The TÜV SÜD team then used Abaqus/Standard for linear elastic simulation of the rapid cooling of the vessel, calculating the effects of a large increase in tensile stresses on the inner vessel wall.
Operational Impact
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