Simulation of shock absorbers behaviour during a 9m drop test

TN International designs, manufactures and licenses packages for the transportation of radioactive materials. To justify the leaktightness and then insure the safety of a package during an accident event, a 9m drop test onto an unyielding target has to be considered. The corresponding kinetic energy is generally absorbed by shock absorbers filled with wooden blocks. In order to improve the numerical simulation of those shock absorbers, a benchmark has been performed using a specific drop test exhibiting an important crushing. This study has led to the improvement of the wood material law, including shear damage effect. The welds failure was also implemented to improve results. This paper will show the main results of this study.