Failure Analysis of Vessel Cover Under Internal Pressure Impulse

When under explosion, the cover of an explosion containment vessel will bear a much higher intensity of impulse loading because of the reflection and superposition of the shock waves, especially in cylindrical vessels. To assure the integrity of the explosion containment vessel closure, a thick steel plate is often used as the cover, while in the supporting part of the shell thickening or reinforcement is also needed. Tooth locks are widely used as a quick-actuating closure. Experiments and numerical simulations were conducted to examine the protective performance of the tooth lock covers. The deformation and failure results agree well with the experimental data. Three types of covers with different number of teeth are calculated. Main factors and weak spots are analyzed with the experimental data and the simulation data. This study may help in the designing of explosion containment vessels and evaluating the protective performance of vessel covers.