Publications

Abstract not provided.

This document describes the implementation of periodic boundary conditions in the ALEGRA finite element code. ALEGRA is an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian multi-physics code with both explicit and implicit numerical algorithms. The periodic boundary implementation requires a consistent set of boundary input sets which are used to describe virtual periodic regions. The implementation is noninvasive to the majority of the ALEGRA coding and is based on the distributed memory parallel framework in ALEGRA. The technique involves extending the ghost element concept for interprocessor boundary communications in ALEGRA to additionally support on- and off-processor periodic boundary communications. The user interface, algorithmic details and sample computations are given.

In an experiment conducted at Sandia National Laboratories, 1:6-scale model of a reinforced concrete light water reactor containment building was pressurized with nitrogen gas to more than three times its design pressure. The pressurization produced one large tear and several smaller tears in the steel liner plate that functioned as the primary pneumatic seal for the structure. The data collected from the overpressurization test have been used to evaluate and further refine methods of structural analysis that can be used to predict the performance of containment buildings under conditions produced by a severe accident. This report describes posttest finite element analyses of the 1:6-scale model tests and compares pretest predictions of the structural response to the experimental results. Strain and displacements calculated in axisymmetric finite element analyses of the 1:6-scale model are compared to strains and displacement measured in the experiment. Detailed analyses of the liner plate are also described in the report. The region of the liner surrounding the large tear was analyzed using two different two-dimensional finite elements model. The results from these analyzed indicate that the primary mechanisms that initiated the tear can be captured in a two- dimensional finite element model. Furthermore, the analyses show that studs used to anchor the liner to the concrete wall, played an important role in initiating the liner tear. Three-dimensional finite element analyses of liner plates loaded by studs are also presented. Results from the three-dimensional analyses are compared to results from two-dimensional analyses of the same problems. 12 refs., 56 figs., 1 tab.

To analytically model soldering and welding processes it is necessary to track the deformation of a material as it changes from a solid to a liquid and then back again to a solid. Because it is the residual stress state in the solid that is of primary interest, the most suitable tools for studying this class of problems appear to be Lagrangian finite element codes that are typically used in the analysis of solids. It is possible to obtain solutions to hydrostatic fluids problems using a Lagrangian finite element code by allowing the ''fluid'' phase of the material to sustain a deviatoric stress component that is very small in magnitude relative to the hydrostatic pressure that exists in the material. The capability to model surface tension phenomena was added to the finite element code SANCHO. SANCHO is a Lagrangian finite element code that uses a dynamic relaxation scheme to solve nonlinear problems involving quasistatic loading of two-dimensional solids. SANCHO is formulated so that it properly accounts for large deformations. This report details the theory and implementation of the method used to model surface tension. With this new capability, SANCHO can be used to solve surface tension problems that are more complex than the problems that can be treated with other more tradition methods of surface tension analysis. 3 refs., 10 figs.