Fluid-structure-interaction for the analysis of the dynamics of fuel storage racks in the case of seismic loads Original Research Article

Different fluid structure interaction (FSI) formulations used for seismic analysis of fuel storage racks are compared and discussed through use of the Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) code STAR-CD. It is shown that a proper and consistent FSI formulation which has the potential to account for 3D flow fields and large amplitude displacements of the racks is necessary to avoid errors in the determination of the structural loads. Furthermore, a new Whole Pool Multi-Rack (WPMR) model developed at Siemens is presented here. Arguments, comparative calculations for validation and typical results of an application are discussed.