High-velocity impact testing of an accident resistant container using a large centrifuge

An impact test technique using the 35-ft centrifuge located in area III at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico is described. An Accident Resistant Container was thrown into a hard target at impact velocities of up to 425 ft/s using the tangential velocity of the centrifuge. The dynamics of motion in a curvilinear path, design considerations and limitations, hardware, target setup, release mechanism, and instrumentation are discussed. 3 refs., 9 figs.