Session: HT-02-02 Impulsively Loaded Vessels - 2

Paper Number: 106922

106922 - Explosive Hydrocode Modeling and Proof Testing of the HsERA-26 Containment Vessel 

An inherited containment vessel design that has been used in the past to contain items in an environmental testing unit was brought to the Explosives Applications Lab to be analyzed and modified. The goal was to modify the vessel to contain an explosive event of 4g TNT equivalence at least once without failure or significant girth expansion while maintaining a seal. A total of ten energetic tests were performed on multiple vessels. In these tests, the 7075-T6 aluminum vessels were instrumented with thin-film resistive strain gages and both static and dynamic pressure gauges to study its ability to withstand an oversize explosive charge of 8g. Additionally, high precision girth (pi tape) measurements were taken before and after each test to measure the plastic growth of the vessel due to the event. Concurrent with this explosive testing, hydrocode modeling of the containment vessel and charge was performed.  The modeling results were shown to agree with the results measured in the explosive field testing.  Based on the data obtained during this testing, this vessel design can be safely used at least once to contain explosive detonations of 8g at the center of the chamber for a charge that will not result in damaging fragments.

Presenting Author: Megan Tribble Sandia National Laboratories

Presenting Author Biography: Megan Tribble is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Explosive Applications Lab. She received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering with Specialization in Explosives Engineering and her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology. She worked for 3 years in the Arming and Firing group, which has its roots in the underground nuclear testing that ended in the 1990s, before moving to her current group where she focuses on impulsively-loaded vessel testing.

Authors:

Megan Tribble Sandia National Laboratories
John Ludwigsen Sandia National Laboratories
Jerome Stofleth Sandia National Laboratories
Darryn Fleming Sandia National Laboratories