Simple Examples for Dynamics of a Single Flexible Block

Graphite fuel blocks and reflector blocks are major components of a prismatic type HTGR. An earthquake loading on the stacked blocks causes rocking responses and solid impacts between them, and may lead to structural integrity problems. The dynamic analysis of block structures has a long history. A basic understanding of the rocking response of a rigid block resting on a rigid floor had not been well established until when G.W. Housner first presented it in 1963. In 1975, T.H. Lee presented a methodology for analyzing the nonlinear response of a column of stacked prismatic fuel blocks. In 1979 T. Ikushima and T. Nakazawa presented their work results on a seismic analysis of a column of stacked prismatic fuel blocks. A stochastic analysis methodology for a rocking block was introduced by Pol D. Spanos and Aik-Sion Koh. S. J. Hogan considered the dynamics of a slender rigid block mounted on a vibrating rigid table with side walls. Although, several novel methodologies and studies for a single rigid block and stacked rigid blocks have been presented, less attention has been paid to the dynamics of flexible blocks. This paper presents the dynamics and responses of a single flexible block on a vibrating floor, and compares them to the classical ones with a rigid assumption. The numerical model for the single flexible block is from Ref