TCSC 1087: GOOD PRACTICE GUIDE - THE APPLICATION OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS TO DEMONSTRATE IMPACT PERFORMANCE OF TRANSPORT PACKAGE DESIGNS

The Transport Container Standardisation Committee (TCSC) is a UK nuclear industry committee whose main function is to maintain and develop codes of practice relating to radioactive materials transport. Its role is to examine the requirements for the safe transport of radioactive material with a view to standardisation and, as appropriate, produce and maintain guidance in the form of standards documentation. The Committee comprises of the Atomic Weapons Establishment plc, British Nuclear Group (Sellafield) Limited, British Energy Generation Ltd, GE Healthcare Ltd, Magnox Generation Business Group, Reviss Services (UK) Ltd, Rolls-Royce plc - Submarines, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency and United Kingdom Nirex Limited. To raise the standard of Finite Element analyses in order to improve confidence in their use, the TCSC and Arup have developed a good practice guide, TCSC 1087: “Good Practice Guide - The Application of Finite Element Analysis to Demonstrate Impact Performance of Transport Package Designs”. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a powerful tool for the simulation of mechanical and thermal behaviour of structures. The implicit method has been used for many decades to simulate the behaviour of structures under static loading and is now well established in that role. The explicit method is relatively novel and best suited for simulating non-linear, time dependent, dynamic problems. Over the years, it has been demonstrated by many users that when FEM is used properly, it can produce results that replicate test results faithfully, even for complex geometries under complex loadings, and can provide a sound basis for demonstrating regulatory compliance. In recent years, the explicit FEM has increasingly been used in the development of radioactive material transport packages and as part of approval applications to demonstrate the performance 2 of packages. The Guide sets out current ‘good practice’ in using explicit FEM for the analysis of impact behaviour of transport packages, and specifically for demonstrating compliance with the regulations for public domain transport in the UK. This approach is particularly recommended for use in support of applications for transport approvals containers with the UK Competent Authority. This paper presents a summary of the Good Practice Guide.