SEISMIC DESIGN OF NUCLEAR-POWER-PLANTS - WHERE ARE WE NOW

The lack of any significant activity in the design and construction of new nuclear power plants over the last 10 years has resulted in a cor responding lull in the basic academic research carried out in this hel d. Whilst some work is still going on related to the evaluation of exi sting plants or to litigation over some of them (including some that n ever became operational) most of it is of a very applied nature and li ttle basic research is being conducted at present. However, research o n earthquake engineering in general, as applied to buildings, bridges, lifelines, dams and other constructed facilities has continued. This paper attempts to look at some of the areas where there were major unc ertainties in the seismic design of nuclear power plants (selection of the design earthquake and its characteristics, evaluation of soil eff ects and soil structure interactions, dynamic analysis and design of t he structures), the progress that has been made in these areas, and th e remaining issues in need of further research. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.