Calculation of a HDR blowdown test using a substructure method

This paper presents the results of a blowdown calculation and the comparison with a HDR test. The calculations are made using a substructuration procedure, which is much cheaper than a 3D finite element analysis, because the specific geometric properties of the substructures (axisymmetrical shells - monodimensional pipes) can be used. The comparison with the experimental data shows that the features of the pressure and displacement signals are well described and that the main modelisation problem is to know a good representation of the break zone; a localized acoustical impedance tends to underestimate the wave damping effects. (orig.)