[en] The use of prestressed concrete reactor vessels (PCRVs) for LMFBR containment creates a need for analytical methods for treating the transient response of such structures, for LMFBR containment must be capable of sustaining the dynamic effects which arise in a hypothetical core disruptive accident (HCDA). These analyses require several unique features: a model of concrete which includes tensile cracking, a methodology for representing the prestressing tendons and for simulating the prestressing operation, and an efficient computational tool for treating the transient response. For the purpose of treating the transient response, a finite element program with explicit time integration was chosen. For the purpose of illustrating the applicability of these techniques and the validity of the models for concrete and the prestressing tendons, several example solutions are presented and compared with experimental results