Study on Stiffened-Plate Structure Response in Marine Nuclear Reactor Operation Environment

Abstract

As the regulations on greenhouse gas emissions at sea become strict, efforts are being made to minimize environmental pollutants emitted from fossil fuels used by ships. Considering the large sizes of ships in conjunction with securing stable supplies of environment-friendly energy, interest in nuclear energy to power ships has been increasing. In this study, the neutron irradiation that occurs during the nuclear reactor operation and its effect on the structural responses of the stiffened-plate structures are investigated. This is done by changing the material properties of DH36 steel according to the research findings on the neutron-irradiated steels and then performing the structural response analyses of the structures using analytical and finite-element numerical solutions. Results reveal the influence of neutron irradiation on the structural responses of the structures. It is shown that both the strength and stiffness of the structures are affected by the neutron-irradiation phenomenon as their maximum flexural stress and deflection are increased with the increase in the amount of neutron irradiation. This implies that strength and stiffness need to be considered in the design of ships equipped with marine nuclear reactors.