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If you live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, listen out for a big “boom” this
week. Engineers at the Sandia National Laboratory will pump nitrogen into a
concrete nuclear containment vessel until it goes pop—all in the name of
safety. The 21-metre-tall structure is a quarter-size model of the concrete
domes designed to contain nuclear reactor accidents. Engineers will gather data
from 1500 stress gauges, thermocouples, pressure sensors and other devices.
“We’ll slowly pressurise it like a balloon until it breaks,” says Michael
Hessheimer, the engineer in charge of the test.