EXPLICIT DYNAMIC SIMULATION OF A PIPE DEBRIS PROJECTILE IMPACT OVER A NUCLEAR HEAVY WATER STORAGE VESSEL

The purpose of this article is to numerically investigate the dynamic response of a heavy water nuclear storage vessel subjected to an impact with high speed debris (pipe fragment). The pipe fragment has a mass of 31 kg. There were employed 5 different simulation scenarios, where the projectile was supposed to have speeds from 10 to 50 m/sec. The used simulation code was ANSYS/LS-DYNA, taking advantage of its explicit dynamics facilities and capability to model a solid/fluid interface. The impact was studied for the vessel wall which was simulated involving Shell 163 type finite elements and also the effect of the fluid on response was considered, the vessel being considered filled with radioactive heavy water at atmospheric pressure.