A Method for Comparing Impacts with Real Targets to Impacts onto the IAEA Unyielding Target*

The severity of the IAEA accident conditions test requirement (IAEA 1990) of an impact onto an essentially unyielding target from a drop height of 9 meters encompasses a large fraction of all real world impacts. This is true, in part, because of the unyielding nature of the impact target. Impacts onto the unyielding target have severities equivalent to higher velocity impacts onto real targets which are not unyielding. The severity of impacts with yielding targets is decreased by the amount of the impact energy absorbed in damaging the target. In demonstrating the severity of the regulatory impact event it is advantageous to be able to relate this impact onto an essentially unyielding target to impacts with yielding targets.