Effect of material hardening model for canister on finite element cask drop simulation for strain-based acceptance evaluation

Abstract The effect of the material hardening model of the canister on a finite element vertical cask drop simulation is investigated for the strain-based acceptance evaluation. Three different hardening models are considered in this paper: the isotropic hardening model, the strain rate-dependent Johnson-Cook (J-C) hardening model, and the modified J-C model which are believed to be the most accurate. By comparing the results using the modified J-C model, it is found that the use of the J-C model provides similar or larger stresses and strains depending on the magnitudes of the strain and strain rate. The use of the isotropic hardening model always yields larger stresses and strains. For the strain-based acceptance evaluation, the use of the isotropic hardening model can produce highly conservative assessment results. The use of the J-C model, however, produces satisfactory results.