Dynamic response of cylindrical explosion containment vessels subjected to internal blast loading

• Published in: International journal of impact engineering 2020-01, Vol.135, p.103389, Article 103389
• Main Authors: Liu, X., Gu, W.B., Liu, J.Q., Xu, J.L., Hu, Y.H., Hang, Y.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Blast loading; Blast loads; Computer simulation; Containment vessels; Cylindrical shells; Dynamic response; Explosion containment vessels; Explosions; Metal foams; Monolayers; Multilayers; Peak strain; Strain growth; Stress concentration
• ISSN: 0734-743X; 1879-3509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2019.103389

•The first pulse does not always work as the primary-shock loading determining the vessel's response.•The vicinity of the pole of ellipsoidal end closure is the most dangerous position of the vessel.•Multiple bending vibration modes are excited and play an important role in the vessel's response.•Nonlinear modal coupling does exist and can cause vessel's strain growth.•Aluminum foam core inner lining promotes the blast resistance of the vessel. This paper presents an experimental investigation into a self-designed single-layer cylindrical explosion containment vessel (CECV) and a new multi-layer CECV composed of single-layer CECV and aluminum foam sacrificial inner lining subjected to non-uniformly distributed internal blast loading. Based on the experimental results, the characteristics of the blast loading acting on the inner wall of the vessel and the strain response of the vessel shell are analyzed through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The analysis results show that the pole of the ellipsoidal end cap is the most dangerous position of the vessel when subjected to internal blast loading produced by a cylindrical charge at the geometric center of the vessel. At the same time, the analysis results confirm the possibility of nonlinear modal coupling to cause strain growth in a CECV. For the multi-layer CECV composed of single-layer CECV and aluminum foam sacrificial inner lining, analysis results demonstrate that the inner lining has a certain protective effect on the CECV as a whole, but may play a counteraction on the cylindrical shell portion of the vessel. This study can guide the design and safety assessment of explosion containment vessels.