LS-DYNASearch |
Applications - NuclearThis page formed part of an exhibition at the 12th International Conference on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials (PATRAM98) in Paris, 10 -15 May 1998.
Arup pioneered the application of non-linear dynamic finite element technique to the analysis of impact events in the early 1980s. Since then we have been at the forefront of the development and application of this technique. Impact events analysed have ranged widely
The computer code used for our impact analysis is LS-DYNA, which we have been using since the early 1980s. Arup are the sole UK distributor of the code and we maintain the support over 40 installations in the UK. We work in close partnership with Livermore Software Technologies Corporation - the author of the code - in its continuous development. To maximize the advantage of this state-of-the-art software, we own a Cray super-computer for high speed processing and a fleet of Silicon Graphics workstations for pre-and post-processing. Whatever is the purpose of the impact analysis - as an integral part of the flask design process, in the assessment of a design modification, for an independent assessment, or as part of the process of obtaining Competent Authority Approval - in all these cases we combine our understanding and expertise in the analysis software. Together with our first-principle and innovative approach to engineering, we arrive at results and interpretations that are accurate and can be accepted with confidence. Project Profile 1Impact Analyses of Reusable Shielded Transport ContainerClient: UK Nirex LtdThe RSTC-285 is a reusable shielded transport container for ILW, made from steel with a nominal 285mm wall thickness. Impact analyses were carried out to assess its performance in six different impact attitudes under conditions prescribed by the IAET Transport Regulations. The 70,000-element model was validated against a series of one-third scale model drop tests before it was analysed for the regulatory impacts. The results obtained from test and analyses agreed extremely well, for both global and local
Project Profile 2Impact Analysis of the New Modular ContainerClient: Rolls-RoyceWe have worked closely with Rolls Royce in their application for a competent authority license from the UK Department of Transport for a fresh fuel container to IP-2 (fissile) standards. We made extensive computer analyses of the drop test event, and a small number of confirmatory drop tests to provide confidence in the analysis results. This was the first time in the UK that computer impact analysis was used as a major part of a licensing application.
Project Profile 3Evaluation of the Safety of Flasks Impacting Different Kinds of Targets
Client: European Commission DG XVIIThis project was to investigate the true safety margin of flasks which had been designed according to the IAEA Transport Regulations, when impacting real-life targets instead of the regulatory "unyielding" target. The second phase of this project has included analysis of a TK-6 flask impacting a layered concrete target and a realistically-modeled desert soil target. The figure below shows an impact crater in the soil target, sectioned along the plane of symmetry. |





