A Simplified Method to Determine Initial Estimates of Peak Strains in Composite Explosive Containment Vessels

Explosive containment vessels made of a fiber-matrix composite require specialized finite element programs to estimate their strains. However for centrally loaded cylindrical vessels the stresses for any general lay up of the fibers in the vessel at the shortest offset of the explosive to the vessel can be assessed by simple analytical methods and these can be used to make initial assessments of the required material and thickness. The results of this simplified method are compared with experimental data on open ended composite tubes carried out by RFNC-VNIIF for Sandia National Laboratories and calculations on these performed by O’Toole et al at the University of Nevada [1].