A nonlinear 3D containment analysis for airplane impact

In the Federal Republic of Germany, it is pertinent safety philosophy to design nuclear facilities against airplane impact, despite its very unlikely probability of occurrence. For safety reasons, the following conditions have to be met: 1) In the close impact area of the projectile, the structure can be stressed up to its ultimate load capacity, so that impact energy is dissipated partly. Hereby, it must be strictly clarified that local structural failure within the impact zone is avoided. 2) Residual impact energy is transferred to the 'non-disturbed' containment structure and to the interior structure. The subject of reinforced concrete structures under impact loads shows still clear gaps between the findings of experimental and analytical analyses. To clarify this highly nonlinear phenomena comprehensive tests have recently been performed in Germany. It is the aim of this paper to carry out a three-dimensional analysis of a nuclear facility. To perform the calculations, the finite element ADINA code is applied. In order to obtain optimum results, a very fine mesh leading to several thousand DOF is used. To model the impact area of the concrete structure realistically, its linear and mostly nonlinear material behaviour as well as its failure criteria must be taken into account. Herewith the structural response is reduced due to increased energy dissipation. This reduction rate is valued by variation of the assumed size of impact zone, the load impact location and the assumed load-time function. (orig./RW)