SPH modeling of fluid–solid interaction for dynamic failure analysis of fluid-filled thin shells

This work concerns the prediction of failure of a fluid-filled tank under impact loading, including the resulting fluid leakage. A water-filled steel cylinder associated with a piston is impacted by a mass falling at a prescribed velocity. The cylinder is closed at its base by an aluminum plate whose characteristics are allowed to vary. The impact on the piston creates a pressure wave in the fluid which is responsible for the deformation of the plate and, possibly, the propagation of cracks. The structural part of the problem is modeled using Mindlin–Reissner finite elements (FE) and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) shells. The modeling of the fluid is also based on an SPH formulation. The problem involves significant fluid–structure interactions (FSI) which are handled through a master–slave-based method and the pinballs method. Numerical results are compared to experimental data.