Benchmarking of Explicit Dynamic Finite Element Analysis for Storage and Transportation Casks Under Impact Loading Conditions

Impact analyses for storage and transportation cask drop tests were performed using the explicit dynamic finite element analysis code to demonstrate analytical accuracy and benchmark the analytical code. The test series for this benchmarking were provided by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) as the Structural Evaluation Unit Benchmark Problem Statement. 30 foot and 120 foot drop test cases in which the test unit was dropped from 30 feet and 120 feet onto an essentially rigid target were selected as the benchmarking problems. A comparison of deformation and acceleration between the actual cask drop tests and those predicted by explicit dynamic finite element analysis performed using LS-DYNA was performed in this paper. The simulation results showed reasonably good agreement with respect to deformation and acceleration between the calculated and the measured result by adjusting the material properties of the impact limiter to match the amount of crush.