General - Continued

DOE-STD-1020-2002

loadings on the basis of seismic experience data without analysis or testing. Seismic experience

data has been developed in a usable format by ongoing research programs sponsored by the

nuclear power industry. The references for this work are the Senior Seismic Review and

Advisory Panel (SSRAP) report (Reference C-60) and the Generic Implementation Procedure

(GIP) for Seismic Verification of Nuclear Plant Equipment (Reference C-61). Note that there

are numerous restrictions ("caveats") on the use of this data as described in the SSRAP report

and the GIP. It is necessary to conduct either seismic analyses or shake table testing to

demonstrate sufficient seismic capacity for those items that cannot be verified by seismic

experience data or for items that are not obviously inherently rugged for seismic effects. Based

on DOE program on the application of experience data for the evaluation of existing systems and

components at DOE facilities, a document has been prepared specifically tailoring it to DOE

type facilities (Reference C-29).

In early 1982, the Seismic Qualification Utility Group (SQUG) was formed for the

purpose of collecting seismic experience data as a cost effective means of verifying the seismic

adequacy of equipment in existing nuclear power plants. Sources of experience data include: (1)

the numerous non-nuclear power plants and industrial facilities with equipment similar to that in

nuclear plants which have experienced major earthquakes and (2) shake table tests which had

been performed to qualify safety-related equipment for licensing of nuclear plants. This

information was collected and organized and guidelines and criteria for its use were developed.

The GIP is the generic means for applying this experience data to verify the seismic adequacy of

mechanical and electrical equipment which must be used in a nuclear power plant during and

following the occurrence of a design level earthquake.

In order to utilize earthquake experience data to demonstrate seismic adequacy of

equipment, four conditions are required to be met:

1. The seismic motion at the equipment location must be enveloped by the Experience Data

Bounding Spectrum or the Generic Equipment Ruggedness Spectrum (GERS).

2. The equipment must fall within the bounding criteria for a given class of similar

equipment which have survived strong earthquake shaking or past qualification tests.

3. The anchorage of the equipment must be shown to be adequate to survive design level

seismic loads.

4. The equipment must meet the inclusion or exclusion rules, also called caveats, to

determine whether the equipment has important characteristics and features necessary to

be able to verify its seismic adequacy by this approach.

The use of earthquake experience data to verify the seismic adequacy of equipment requires

considerable engineering judgement. As a result, the use of these procedures should be given

special attention in the peer review process.

C-47