ABSTRACT
In this work we review the main issue pertinent to evaluation of integrity and durability of energy production systems. The applications concern both the currently dominant source of energy in France in terms of nuclear power plants, as well as the renewable energy sources, such as wind-turbines or hydro-turbines. We show that the state-of-the-art advances in computational methods can be brought to bear upon this class of problems, providing the full understanding of the potential failure modes of the given system, along with the very detailed simulation of extreme conditions brought by man-made and natural hazards (explosions, fires, stormy winds, earthquakes, tsunamis …). We also show that the current advanced state of computational methods can be successfully used to provide a detailed interpretation of tests on structures (under heterogeneous stress field), and offer a clear explanation of the size effect.
