Benchmarking of 2D and 3D Finite Element Calculations With Dynamic PulseBuckling Tests of Cylindrical Shells Under Axial Impact

In the design of radioactive material transportation packages there are components, such as the impact limiters, that typically undergo large plastic strains during hypothetical accident testing. Also, in these tests it must be demonstrated that the containment boundary does not buckle. In order to analytically determine the response of the packages, the ability of the analysis tools to address these two issues must be evaluated. To accomplish this evaluation an experimentaVcomputational benchmark problem was developed at Sandia National Laboratories. Because the impact test in the hypothetical accident series is a dynamic event, it was desirable to have the benchmark problem consist of dynamic loading at approximately the same strain rate as that observed in the event. This paper will discuss the development of the benchmark problem, describe the test results, and show a comparison between the test results and several 20 and 3D finite element simulations. More details on the test and analyses can be found in (Hoffman and Ammerman 1995).