Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268

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Nuclear Engineering and Design

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Reanalysis of the floor response spectra of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant MARK
Reactor Building
⁎
Gintautas Dundulisb, , Rimantas Kačianauskasa, Darius Markauskasa, Eugeniuš Stupaka,
Stanislav Stupaka, Saulius Šliaupac
a
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Saulėtekio al. 11, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania
b
Lithuanian Energy Institute, Breslaujos 3, LT-44403 Kaunas, Lithuania
c
Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The purpose of this paper is re-evaluation of the floor response spectra of the reactor building of Ignalina Nuclear
Seismic analysis Power Plant (NPP), Lithuania. The operation of reactor was stopped at the end of 2009; however, the removal of
Free-field spectra the nuclear waste takes a long time. The seismic evaluation of the Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Building is
Floor response spectra important in assessment of the reactor safety. The safe operation of the NPP is important not only during the
FEM
reactor operation, but also when it is stopped. The building of the reactor should satisfy the safety requirements
Ignalina NPP
Reactor building
during maintenance of the building until final utilization of the nuclear fuel and equipment. The seismic analysis
of Ignalina NPP are performed to evaluate the level of seismic potential in the structures with respect to new data
and recent knowledge.
The seismic input is evaluated on basis of the seismotectonic data and seismic properties of soil of the Ignalina
NPP site. The dynamic finite element analysis of the reactor building was conducted in two stages. The soil-
structure interaction analysis was carried out in order to assess the effects of the soil on the input spectra by
applying two quasi two-dimensional coupled soil-structure finite element models. A detailed three-dimensional
model of the building structure was developed for the fixed base dynamic analysis. The floor response spectra
were obtained at the specified levels and specified points of the building. The influence of 3D effects and specific
properties of the building structure are comprehensively discussed.

1. Introduction seismic hazard analysis,

The evaluation of the floor response spectra is an important part of
the safety analysis of nuclear power plants (NPP). Seismic risk assess-
ment is guided by numerous national and international requirements,
such as IAEA Series (IAEA, 2000, 2003), ASCE 4-98 Standard and en-
closed commentary (ASCE 4-98, 2000) that describes validated
methods. Concept of valid standards is flexible and allows the analyst to
conduct evaluation of seismic hazard on the best international prac-
tices, the new knowledge and data.
The systematic re-evaluation of floor response spectra risk is moti-
vated by various reasons including:
• evolution of the safety and design standards containing a rigorous
seismic design base compared to those applied for design of oper-
ating NPPs,
• significant advances in the field of ground-motion modelling and
• updating of site-specific seismological, geological information and
soil properties,
• increase of computer capacities in application of structural model-
ling techniques allowing a more consistent analysis and develop-
ment of sophisticated 3D building models.
One of the earliest reviews of recommendations for the seismic
design spectra was presented by McGuire et al. (2001) for the US nu-
clear facilities. It comprises broad range of earthquake magnitudes and
distances under various site-specific soil conditions. Earthquake re-
sponse spectra for seismic design of nuclear power plants of the UK
facilities are reviewed by Bommer et al. (2011). The re-evaluation of
seismic hazard is becoming a practice of the periodic safety reviews as
more data are accumulated in course of plant operation. Comprehen-
sive description of the seismic re-evaluation of nuclear power plants
defined by the French regulation is provided by Viallet et al. (2010).

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Gintautas.Dundulis@lei.lt (G. Dundulis).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2017.09.009
Received 25 April 2017; Received in revised form 8 September 2017; Accepted 10 September 2017
0029-5493/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
G. Dundulis et al.
The re-assessment of East European NPPs (Campbell et al., 1998)
indicates, however, a wide diversification of seismic hazard at plant
sites. Moreover, the original design basis ground motion parameters
had been underestimated, sometimes by a considerable margin
(Gurpinar and Godoy, 1998). Various aspects of the seismic input up-
date may be found in selected samples of case studies (Jussila et al.,
2016; Majcher and Wojcicki, 2014). Ground motions with complete
information, including three components (two horizontal components
and one vertical component) and site classifications should be con-
sidered (Li et al., 2015). The analysis of the tall building structure with
complex foundation system in non-uniform (layered soil) soil field
should include the interaction of structure-foundation-soil (Ahmed
et al., 2014; Eser and Aydemir, 2011; Nakamura et al., 2008) and it is
very important to evaluate soil-structure interaction in the re-assess-
ment of NPPs (Tunon-Sanjur et al., 2007).
The paper addresses to seismic research of the Unit 2 reactor
building of the Ignalina NPP (INPP), i.e., the evaluation of the floor
response spectra. The INPP is a twin-Unit of the multi-channel graphite-
moderated water-cooled reactors (RBMK) (Almenas et al., 1998). The
INPP Unit 1 was shut down at the end of 2004, and Unit 2 was closed at
the end of 2009. Those dates mark the beginning of the nuclear de-
commissioning process since the fuel will be located at the shutdown
reactor for several years in spent fuel pools of the reactor unit building.
The building of the reactor should satisfy the safety requirements in
order to ensure performance of fuel transportation path on various
building structure levels for the entire utilization period.
The INPP was originally designed for an aseismic site conditions,
based on the lack of systematic studies and limited geological in-
formation. The detailed seismotectonic studies of the Baltic region
started in the late eighties well after the INPP was built. Based on re-
sults of seismotectonic studies the maximum credible earthquake was
assessed as high as Io = VII (MSK-64) and M = 4.5–4.7. Yet, the recent
Kaliningrad (located ∼400 km from the INPP) earthquake 22.09.2004
(Pacesa et al., 2005) has shown that the seismic potential is larger. It
urges the re-evaluation of the seismic risk of the INPP.
The paper is organised as follows. The field ground response spectra
analysis evaluated on basis of the seismotectonic data and seismic
properties of soil of the INPP site is described in Section 2. The response
spectra analysis of the reactor building including the SSI and develop-
ment of the 3D FE models is presented in Section 3. Summary and
conclusions are given in Section 4.
2. Free field ground response spectra analysis
2.1. The seismotectonic data and methods
The seismic spectra, used for safety level SL-2 risk analysis, were
derived for the site-specific geological conditions. It was assumed that
affecting earthquake can potentially occur bellow the plant taking into
consideration the identified complex tectonic framework of the area
(Marcinkevicius and Laškovas, 2007). The seismic properties of the
geological section were derived from Vertical Seismic Profile studies in
two deep wells and seismic microzoning survey performed at the site in
the eighties-nineties. The topography of the area is composed of 100 m
thick Quaternary glacial sediments. The average seismic S-wave velo-
city of the uppermost 0–10 m interval of the moraine dominated section
is 270 m/s, increasing to 350 m/s in the 10–20 m depth interval. The
values of S-wave velocities of the underlying Palaeozoic sedimentary
rocks represented by different lithologies (sand and sandstone, clay and
shale, carbonates) are in the range of 1190 m/s–2400 m/s. The total
thickness of the sedimentary pile that covers the high-grade meta-
morphic Precambrian basement is 720 m in the area.
The seismic spectra were first calculated for the crystalline base-
ment, using the seismic attenuation function by Silva et al. (2003) that
was developed for the Central and Eastern USA and Midland, the geo-
logical conditions of which are close to the Baltic region and therefore is
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Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268
the most consistent for the analysis of the INPP site. A set of synthetic
accelerograms were calculated from the defined seismic spectrum using
DynaTool software (www.cr-engineering.co.uk/Update/Frames/
DynaTool.htm). The enveloping function of the synthetic accel-
erogram was applied as that recommended by ASCE 4-98, i.e. duration
of the ground shaking 10 s with 1 s of rise phase and 3 s of decay phase
for an earthquake of magnitude M = 5.0. The damping value was as-
sumed 5%.
When propagating through the overlying sediments, the seismic
wave transforms, essentially in the uppermost part of the section. The
wave transformation was calculated using EERA2000 program that is a
Windows modification of SHAKE91 program (Idriss and Sun, 1992).
The free-field ground response spectra were derived from synthetic
accelerograms amplified due to the propagation through the sedimen-
tary cover. A composite seismic spectrum was further used as the
seismic input in SL-2 seismic risk analysis.
2.2. The free-field ground response spectra
Lithuania is situated in the eastern periphery of the Baltic sedi-
mentary basin overlying the western part of the East European Craton
that is characterized by a low seismic activity. However, more than 40
strong earthquakes of intensity up to VII (scale MSK-64) were registered
in the Baltic region (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Kaliningrad district)
and neighbouring Belarus during past 400 years that points to possi-
bility of occurrence of hazardous earthquakes in the region (Aronov
et al., 2005). Earthquakes are related to large scale faults. They origi-
nated mainly during the latest Silurian-earliest Devonian, while minor
faulting phases took place during the Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic
times.
The Daugavipils earthquake M = 4.6 with a hypocentral depth of
8–10 km took place just 24 km away from the INPP site in 1908. It is
likely related to N-S trending fault zone that is traced to the east of the
INPP. This M = 4.6 value is defined as the Maximum Credible
Magnitude at the INPP site. Yet, the largest magnitude of the registered
earthquakes of the Baltic region attains M 5.0 with a hypocentral depth
of about 15 km (Gregersen et al., 2007). Those values were accepted as
the Design Basis Earthquake in the analysis of seismic hazard of the
INPP site. The geological and geophysical data show the presence of a
large shear zone in the crystalline basement that associates with
Drūksiai depression in the sedimentary cover nearby the plant site
(Marcinkevicius and Laškovas, 2007). Accordingly, the potential
earthquake source was assumed to be located bellow the site.
Peak ground acceleration (PGA) values reflect the general level of
the seismic hazard. The frequency characteristics of a seismic wave are
essential for the evaluation of the seismic risk. In accordance with the
modern practice, such input load specification is expressed in the form
of the Design Basis free-field ground response spectra.
The free-field ground response spectra of the Design Basis
Earthquake of the INPP site was derived in a few steps, as illustrated in
Fig. 1. The ground response spectrum was first obtained for the Early
Proterozoic crystalline basement rocks (dashed line in Fig. 1) using
seismic attenuation function presented by Silva et al. (2003). A set of
synthetic accelerograms for a horizontal component were derived for
the buried top of the basement from this reference spectrum. The
maximum acceleration values are defined for frequency domain
20–50 Hz and PGA is 0.4 m/s2.
The synthetic accelerograms of the basement were transformed to
account for transformation of the seismic wave propagating through the
sedimentary cover that is as thick as 720 m at the site. Accordingly, a
set of free-field ground response spectra was derived for the soil level of
the INPP (Fig. 1). The PGA only little changes across the depth interval
of Palaeozoic and Ediacaran rocks. The most considerable increase in
PGA values occurs in the Quaternary succession, essentially in its up-
permost part. A composite spectrum of the Design Basis Earthquake was
defined by averaging the modelled free-field ground response spectrum
G. Dundulis et al.
Fig. 1. 1,2 – composite free-field ground response spectra of the Design Basis Earthquake
of INPP site derived for horizontal and vertical components, 3–5 – modelled free-field
ground response spectra, 6 – ground response spectra at the surface of the crystalline
basement.
(Fig. 1). The shape of surface spectra is considerably different from the
basement spectrum, showing shifting of maximum spectral acceleration
values from high frequencies to low frequencies. The largest accelera-
tion is calculated for a frequency 10 Hz and PGA was modelled as high
as 1.3 m/s2.
Furthermore, comparison of the INPP site spectrum shows close
similarities to that defined for the Leningrad NPP site (Varpasuo, 1999).
The geological conditions of the Leningrad NPP site are similar to those
of northeast Lithuania. Both sites are located within the Fennsocandian
segment of the East European Craton covered by compatible sediments.
Shear-wave velocities of the soil are in the range of 180–250 m/s2 at the
Leningrad NPP site.
The vertical ground response spectrum of the Design Basis
Earthquake was derived from the horizontal spectrum (Fig. 1). The
guidelines by ASCE 4-98 recommend the ratios of vertical to horizontal
spectrum values for near-field (less than 15 km) earthquakes as 2/3 for
frequencies < 3 Hz and 1/1 for frequencies > 5 Hz (Fig. 1).
3. Response spectra analysis of the building
3.1. The initial data on Ignalina NPP reactor building and its structural
model
The reactor building of the Ignalina NPP has a unique and ex-
ceptionally complex structures compared to such buildings constructed
in the Western countries. It does not have traditional form containment
but is constructed as a large traditional building with interconnected
walls. The geometry of the building it is described in terms of the global
Cartesian coordinates, where axis 01 denotes horizontal East-West
(EW), while axis 02 denotes horizontal North-South (NS) and 03 shows
a vertical direction. The longitudinal cross-section of the building
structure and the location of the main equipment such as reactor (R),
refuelling machine (RM) and spend fuel pools (SFP) are presented in
Fig. 2.
The attenuation of seismic input via the increase in the structure’s
level largely depends on the distribution of stiffness and masses of the
building. Focussing on evaluation of the global three-dimensional re-
sponse, only basic features of the building were considered in devel-
oping its structural model in order to avoid local effects. The structural
model is restricted to the monolithic reinforced concrete structures. The
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Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268
Fig. 2. The central longitudinal NS cross-section of the INPP reactor’s building and the
most important equipment: R is the reactor, RM is the refuelling machine, SFP is the spent
fuel pool.
Fig. 3. Schematic view of the structural model in the section of the reactor, showing the
location of the specified points.
typical geometry of the simplified model is schematically shown in the
building’s cross-section at reactor axis as shown in Fig. 3. Here, the
monolithic part is outlined, while the removed prefabricated concrete
structures are shaded. Its influence is considered by distributing their
mass on the walls of the model. Five characteristic elevation levels
important for the seismic analysis of the building, which are denoted on
the above imaginary central line by the points CW0 to CW4 are also
shown in Fig. 3. These elevations were specified to indicate the loca-
tions of most potentially dangerous equipment operating during and
after decommission (CW0 indicates the reactor’s bottom level, CW1
shows the support level of the main circulation pumps, CW2 denotes
the bottom of the spent fuel pools, CW3 indicates the level of the rails
for refuelling machine and CW4 shows the level of the rails for the
crane 50/10). The most important heavy equipment is considered as
lumped masses connected to the building by using the coupling con-
straints. The dynamic interaction between the building structures and
the equipment and hydrodynamic effects of the spent fuel pools caused
by the specific structure of the building are neglected. Small equipment
and auxiliary structural members are assumed to be dead loads added
in the form of the distributed masses. The value of the reactor’s mass
(7.755x106 kg) was added at the discrete rigid point located in the
centre of the reactor’s core and rigidly connected to the supports of the
reactor. Finally, the total mass of the building was obtained to be equal
to 3.8 × 108 kg.
The final structural model of the Ignalina NPP building presents a
composition of the thin-wall structural members. The general view of
G. Dundulis et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268

described in terms of the soil-structure interaction (SSI) analysis (ASCE

4-98, 2000). The fundamentals of the dynamic SSI analysis of the real
infinite geometry, boundary conditions, damping and other effects may
be dated back to the contributions of Lysmer (Lysmer et al., 1975).
Thereby, the implementation of the so-called transmitting boundaries
indicates the critical turn-point in eliminating the artificial reflection of
waves in numerical models of the infinite half-space. However, a de-
tailed SSI 3D FE analysis of the real NPP model was still beyond the
available computational recourses, see Tyapin (2007).
Nevertheless, several simplified approaches are possible. A pseudo
three-dimensional approach was applied to the coupled soil-structure
discretisation by applying the methodology adopted in FLUSH software
(Lysmer et al., 1975). It is one of the internationally recognized code
used for SSI analysis of NPP and one of the programs recommended by
American Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Lou et al., 2011). This
software is a 2D soil-structure interaction program, analysing the hor-
izontal and vertical seismic motions. This program gains its solution
efficiency from the method of solving a dynamic problem in the fre-
quency domain, and by separating the stiffness and damping parts of
the solution using complex arithmetic. The soil nonlinearity is material
nonlinearity caused by both the soil shear modulus and the damping. It
is resolved by iterative application of the equivalent linear models.
Since the structure is principally a shear wall structure, it is possible
to represent the mass and geometry of the structure by a single slice.
Therefore, two orthogonal slices describe a 3D model. The coupled 2D
FE model aimed at the SSI analysis comprises the discretisation of both
the soil and structure domain. The top part of the model represents the
structure of the NPP building, while bottom part of the model re-
presents the structure of soil and both parts represent the entire
structure. The slices of the finite thickness were designed.
For Ignalina NPP model, two perpendicular 2D models (the first
model corresponding to the EW slices and the second model corre-
sponding to the NS slices) were elaborated. A schematic view of the
developed 2D FE model is presented in Fig. 5. The geometry of the
structural domain is defined by the height H = 63 m and the width w
(w = 90 m EW slice and w = 102 m for the NS slice) and is extracted
from the 3D model of the building (Fig. 4). The composition of walls
used for the construction of each of the two models is presented in
Fig. 6.
The stiffness of the 2D plane finite elements (Fig. 5) is calculated as
the sum of the stiffness of the shear walls (Fig. 6) in the cross-section.
The mass of the walls is distributed among the plane elements, while

Fig. 4. A thin-walled structural model: (a) general view; (b) the NS central section.

the developed model is presented in Fig. 4. Here, the stiffeners, double

walls, trusses and other smaller details are homogenized and in-
corporated to enhance plates stiffness.
Stiffness properties of the building are predefined by cross-sectional
dimensions and the material properties. The conservative approach was
used in the model. The properties of the reinforced concrete structures
were assumed to be linear. The thickness of the walls varies in the range
of 0.5–2.0 m, while the thickness of the floor slabs changes in the range
of 0.3–1.8 m.

3.2. The analysis of the soil-structure interaction

The INPP site presents a case of the soft soil, which has to be con-
sidered in the overall seismic analysis. In this case, the dynamic re-
sponse of the structure may differ considerably from that obtained on
the rock site from that exhibited by the coupling between the soil and Fig. 5. The FE model for the SSI analysis (dimensions given in m): w = 90/102 m and
w1 = 130/150 m in the EW/NS directions.
the structure, which results in the propagation of waves and is

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G. Dundulis et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268

Fig. 6. A conceptual presentation of the structural part of the SSI model, with the walls used for the stiffness evaluation in the NS (a) and EW (b) directions.

Table 1
Soil parameters.

Depth, m Density, kg/ S-wave Dynamic shear Poisson’s ratio

m3 velocity, m/s modulus, MPa

0–4 1750 190 65 0.45

4–10 2100 330 230 0.40
10–20 2200 450 430 0.39
20–30 2100 750 1100 0.36
30–100 2050 1100 2000 0.36

the concentrated masses are fixed at the prescribed points. The ade-
quacy of the 2D models for the original 3D model which will be de-
scribed in the next section was evaluated by additional tests performed
by using the BRIGADE/Plus software (BRIGADE/Plus, 2003). Both the
EW and NS models, as well as the full 3D model, were loaded by the
equivalent horizontal loads. Based on the numerical results, the stiff-
ness of the 2D models was corrected to fit their adequacy. Then, the
masses of the walls in 2D were also corrected to be adequate.
The infinite soil domain is bounded by a rectangular box with the
width w1 (w1 = 130 m EW slice and w1 = 150 m for NS slice), which
is related to the structure’s size. The width of the box is approximately
10% larger than the size of the building along the planar surfaces of the
slice of the soil on which the modelled structure is located. The depth of
the box, equal to 100 m, corresponds to the depth of the considered soil
layers. It is divided into five soil layers depending on the properties
used in SSI assessment and presented in Table 1.
The soil degradation and damping of particular layers is defined by
curves proposed by Seed and Idriss (1970). To account for the un-
certainties in the SSI analysis, the variation of the soil shear modulus
should be investigated (IAEA, 2000). Because of the probabilistic
character of the evaluation, the soil shear modulus should be varied
between the best estimate value times and the best estimate value. This
evaluation is characterized by the uncertainty factor ± Cv, the
minimum value of which should be 0.5.
The bottom of the soil domain is fixed vertically, but the horizontal
motion is allowed. The sides of the soil domain are connected by the
elastic springs. To reduce the size of the numerical model, two waves
transmitting boundaries are placed on both sides of the model. The
three-dimensional nature of the soil-structure system is accounted for
the plane model by using viscous boundaries along the planar surfaces
of the slice of the soil, where the modelled structure is located.
Fig. 7. The enveloped horizontal (a) and vertical (b) free fields and the modified spectra.
The soil structure interaction analysis is performed by using the
time history method. The seismic input is described by the synthetic
time histories (accelerograms). This time history is generated according

264
G. Dundulis et al.
Fig. 8. The finite Element model of the building.
to the free field response spectrum and by using an appropriate envelop
function. Free field response spectra, along with the envelop function in
10 s duration, are used for the generating time histories. According to
the requirements [ASCE, 2000] for SSI analysis, at least three statisti-
cally independent time histories should be used in each of the direc-
tions. Consequently, nine time histories (six histories using horizontal
response spectra and three histories using vertical response spectrum)
were generated. The above-mentioned time histories has been explored
three times for the estimated and enveloped (the best and the worst)
soil properties.
The accelerations at the base level of the building were calculated
by the FE method, using the above-described FE models and generated
time histories. It means that the evaluation of SSI requires considering
36 new response spectra with 18 spectra for each of the EW and NS
directions. The response spectra are obtained by transferring the ac-
celerations from the time domain into the frequency domain accelera-
tions by using DynaTool (www.cr-engineering.co.uk/Update/Frames/
DynaTool.htm). The envelopes of the response spectra form two new
horizontal and one new vertical response spectra. The enveloped re-
sponse spectra are presented in Fig. 7. Free field spectra are also given
Fig. 9. The shapes of the selected eigenmodes responding to resonance frequencies: f1 = 4.08 Hz (a) and f26 = 10.76 Hz (b).
265
Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268
for the sake of comparison.
The modified response spectra of accelerations show the contribu-
tion of the soft soil. The obtained results reflect a general tendency
observed in transferring input acceleration from hard rock to soft soil
(Bommer et al., 2011). The peak of the vertical accelerations (Fig. 7(b))
increased from 0.15g to 0.82g and was shifted from the frequency of
10 Hz towards the lowest value of 3.2 Hz. Considering the horizontal
acceleration spectra (Fig. 7(a)), similar increase in the peak value and
its shift were detected for longitudinal (NS) acceleration. In summary,
the conducted SSI analysis has shown that soft soil properties of the
Ignalina NPP site contribute to the seismic input.
3.3. The structural FE model
The BRIGADE/Plus software (BRIGADE/Plus, 2003), which includes
an integrated Abaqus FEA solver, was used for structural analysis. The
developed structural model of the reactor building presents a thin-
walled structure described using the linear four-node shell elements
S4R of ABAQUS (ABAQUS, 2011). The support columns of slabs of
structural members are described by beam elements. The developed
structural FE model presented in Fig. 8. It is fixed by rigid supports. The
FE model with 155,500 degrees of freedom was chosen for the dynamic
analysis.
3.4. The results of the structural seismic analysis
The structural seismic analysis was performed out using the re-
sponse spectra method for the simultaneous horizontal and vertical
input at the fixed supports. The seismic input presents three modified
spectra, i.e., the enveloped spectra, obtained in the SSI analysis (Fig. 7).
The damping of the structures was determined by the equivalent vis-
cous damping approach, and 5 percent of critical damping was speci-
fied. When calculating 800 various modes, the highest frequency equal
to 35.36 Hz was reached. The specified eigenmodes are presented in
Fig. 9.
Three independent acceleration response spectra, corresponding to
three perpendicular directions, were obtained in the specified struc-
ture’s points. Spatial components of accelerations were combined by
the SRSS (square-root-of-the-sum-of-the-squares) rule.
The results of the calculation of the in-structure response spectra at
G. Dundulis et al. Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268

Fig. 11. The comparison of the modified response spectra of the selected vertically lo-
cated points CW2 and CW3 with the initial design data (CW2_des and CW3_des): (a)
horizontal EW and (b) vertical directions.

the above selected points (CW0 up to CW4 (see Fig. 3)) are presented in
Fig. 10. Here, each of the graphs exhibits the variations in the di-
mensionless accelerations a, relative to the gravity acceleration g,
against frequency. The frequencies are shown on a logarithmic scale.
Three plots represent three perpendicular acceleration components,
indicating the accelerations in the global 01 (horizontal EW), 02 (hor-
izontal NS) and 03 (vertical) directions, respectively. The first peak is
defined at the frequency equal to 4.08 Hz. It is relevant to the first
Fig. 10. The response spectra of the selected vertically located points on the central line:
clearly isolated eigenmode shown in Fig. 9(a), which may be char-
a) a horizontal EW, b) a horizontal NS, and c) a vertical directions.
acterized as a global transversal bending-torsion mode. It means that
the first peak is characteristic of the global building behaviour.
The second peak occurs at higher frequencies. Its location slightly
depends on the direction and the elevation level. In particular, the

266
G. Dundulis et al.
variation interval is predefined by the lowest frequency of 10.05 Hz the
structure’s bottom and shifted to 11.08 Hz on the top. It could be stated
that this spectral peak is relevant to the frequency interval of six, from
24 to 29 eigenmodes, which are of the local rather than of the global
character. The sample of the mode shape of the 26th mode is given in
Fig. 9(b).
It is also obvious (Politopoulos and Moussallam, 2012) that the
amplification of spectra values in the vicinity of non-isolated modes
frequencies occurs due to the coupling of vertical and horizontal ex-
citation (especially, in the case of an unsymmetrical structure). In this
case, the structure is symmetric with respect to the NS axis along 1
direction, (Fig. 4(a)), while asymmetry can be clearly observed in the
perpendicular direction. The above-mentioned coupling between the
vertical and horizontal NS accelerations is clearly shown by the con-
sideration of the vertical spectra, where considerable attenuation of the
second peak values, with the increase in the elevation level, is de-
monstrated.
The variation in the response spectra via the height of the building is
of complicated nature. Two different variation tendencies can be dis-
tinguished between the lower massive part below the slab of the reactor
compartment and a more flexible part above it. The separation level at
altidude 25.0 m above the reactor R is shown in Fig. 2. In the lower
part, both horizontal spectra are of similar character. With the increase
in the height above this level, an interchange between both peaks oc-
curs. In the upper part, both peak values of the horizontal accelerations
increase almost linearly with the height, while the maximum is pre-
dicted by the global behaviour, as illustrated by the first eigenmode.
The similarity of the profiles of the vertical response spectra is retained
via height, whereas the maximal value is related to the second peak.
3.5. The comparative analysis of the results obtained by using the three-
dimensional and stick models
Seismic design for the INPP structures was produced according to
the standard. The details of the design data may be found in Almenas
et al. (1998). The INPP was designed by assuming the Design Basis
Earthquake magnitude equal to 6 on the MSK-64 scale. It assumes
seismic acceleration to be equal to 0.25g–0.5g in the frequency range
between 2 and 10 Hz. The later study of a relatively simple stick model,
having the input M = 6.5 and PGA = 0.75 m/s2, was performed by
designers (VNIPIET, 1991). These data are presented hereafter (denoted
by “des”). The selected spectra at the elevations CW2 and CW3 (Fig. 3),
horizontal EW (a) and vertical (b) directions of the three-dimensional
model and stick model (denoted by “des”), are plotted in Fig. 11. It
could be stated that the simplified stick model is considerably stiffer in
both horizontal directions. The dominant peak frequencies of 1.5 Hz are
found in all directions. The respective values for the 3D FE model reach
3 Hz in all directions. The re-evaluated values of horizontal peak ac-
celerations are twice as high, when compared to those of the stick
model. The amplification of vertical peak acceleration is even higher
and reaches the magnification factor equal to three.
A comparison of the obtained results with the data previously ob-
tained by applying the stick model developed by a designer demon-
strates that simplified approaches are not able to reflect local structure’s
behaviour and may yield underestimated values of the peak accelera-
tions. The stick model’s results are too conservative in the range of low
frequencies and do not cover the effects of the Ignalina NPP reactor
building in the range of higher frequencies. The spectrum was calcu-
lated by using a simplified “stick” one-dimensional column discrete-
mass model, taking into account the elastic deformations of the foun-
dation. The whole structure at the level of the elastic spring support has
all six degrees of freedom, while at the level of each floor, the me-
chanical behaviour is restricted to four degrees of freedom (translation
displacement to axes 1, 2, and 3 and rotation around axis 3). The ob-
tained results clearly demonstrate the importance of the refined model.
267
Nuclear Engineering and Design 324 (2017) 260–268
4. Summary and conclusions
The seismic input of the INPP site was evaluated on the basis of the
updated seismotectonic data. The site-specific free-field ground re-
sponse spectra were derived. The SL-2 ground motion hazard level was
estimated to be as high as PGA = 1.3 m/s2. The proposed spectral
shape has higher amplitudes at high frequencies in the range of
8–20 Hz.
The SSI analysis helped to identify basic tendencies observed in si-
milar soils varying from hard rock to soft soil. Consideration of parti-
cular effects caused by the SSI calculations, allowed the authors to state
that soft soil causes shifting of the peak acceleration in the NS direction
from 10 Hz to 3 Hz (Fig. 7, a), while retaining the shape of the spectrum
in the EW direction nearly unchanged (Fig. 7, b). A considerable effect
on the vertical accelerations is demonstrated.
The floor response spectra were obtained by using a detailed three-
dimensional model of the building structure. It has been shown that the
vertical variation in the response spectra strongly depends on the decay
of the global stiffness of the building structure, where considerable
attenuation of the peak values could be observed in the upper flexible
part.
The response spectra are characterized by two peak values, thereby,
the first peak-value is associated with the isolated resonance frequency
equal to 4.08 Hz. It is relevant to the global transversal bending-torsion
mode. The second peak value is associated with a group of the so-called
‘non-isolated’ resonance frequencies, which are of the local rather than
global character. The observed amplification of spectra values in the
vicinity of non-isolated modes frequencies may be attributed to the
coupling of vertical and horizontal excitation.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to extend thanks to the administration and
technical staff of the Ignalina NPP, for providing the information re-
garding the operational procedures and operational data. The study was
supported by the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation,
Lithuania (No. G-08066).
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