Tangential shear design in reinforced concrete containments—Research results and applications

Abstract Reinforced concrete containments at nuclear power plants are designed to resist forces caused by internal pressure, gravity, and severe earthquakes. The size, shape, and possible stress states in containments produce unique problems for design and construction. A lack of experimental data on the capacity of reinforced concrete to transfer shear stresses while subjected to biaxial tension, has led to cumbersome if not impractical design criteria. Research programs recently conducted at the Construction Technology Laboratories and at Cornell University indicate that design criteria for tangential shear are conservative. This paper discusses results from recent research and presents proposed changes for tangential shear design provisions of the current United States code for containment structures.