Achieving cost savings through collaborative seismic testing

Seismic qualification of nuclear power plant equipment through testing has been perceived by utility personnel as a costly and complicated process. Certainly, some equipment types may only be qualified by test due to the complexity of the item and/or the inability to represent the item in a quantitative analysis. Other factors also influence the reluctance by some to resort to seismic testing. These include cost, dealing with test failures, lack of understanding of the testing process, and greater reliance on new analytical techniques. A group of utilities have allied themselves to address these issues and have formed the Seismic Qualification Reporting and Testing Standardization (SQURTS) group. SQURTS has implemented a program whereby testing is performed at a low cost, often lower than a comparable analytical solution. Testing is conducted at generic seismic levels using generic test procedures, which broadens the applicability of results. Test reports are published in a standard format which shortens the process of review and approval. Testing is no longer just a requirement, but a cost-effective option. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.