Session: HT-02-01 Impulsively Loaded Vessels

Paper Number: 123890

123890 - Comparison of Measured and Predicted Vessel Hoop Strains and Door Displacements for the Explosive Destructive System V31 Vessel 

The Explosive Destruction System (EDS) V31 containment vessel was procured by the US Army Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD) as a third-generation system used to destroy chemical munitions. It is the fifth individual EDS vessel to be fabricated under Code Case 2564 of the 2019 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which provides rules for the design of impulsively loaded vessels. The explosive rating for this vessel, based on the code case, is twenty-four (24) pounds TNT-equivalent for up to 1092 detonations. This report documents the results of explosive tests that were performed on the vessel at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico to qualify the vessel for field operations use. There were three design basis configurations for qualification testing. Qualification test (1) consisted of a simulated M55 rocket motor and warhead assembly of 24lbs of Composition C-4 (30 lb TNT equivalent). This test was considered the maximum load case, based on modeling and simulation methods performed by Sandia prior to the vessel design phase. Qualification test (2) consisted of a regular, right circular cylinder, unitary charge, located central to the vessel interior of 19.2 lb of Composition C-4 (24 lb TNT equivalent). Qualification test (3) consisted of a 12-pack of regular, right circular cylinders of 2 lb each, distributed evenly inside the vessel (totaling 19.2 lb of C-4, or 24 lb TNT equivalent). The ASME certification was based exclusively on the analytical predictions because the data required for certification cannot be obtained through testing. Strains through the thickness of the wall and on the inside surface of the cylinder were required and could only be obtained through analysis. Strain gages were placed on the outside of the vessel in three locations and the displacement of the door was measured using a Photonic Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) system. These measured values are compared to analytical predictions to help ensure the accuracy of the predicted strains and displacements throughout the rest of the model.

Presenting Author: John Ludwigsen Sandia National Laboratories

Presenting Author Biography: Bs in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ms in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ph. D. in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA.
36 Years experience in design, modeling and testing of high energy events at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM.
Other work experience includes drilling engineering for Exxon corporation, heavy steel design and fabrication for CBI Inc. and design and modeling of satellite structures for Draper Laboratories.

Authors:

John Ludwigsen Sandia National Laboratories
Jerome Stofleth Sandia National Laboratories
Megan Tribble Sandia National Laboratories
Robert Crocker Sandia National Laboratories