Dynamic Stress of a Liquid Metal Target Container Under Pulsed Heating

Abstract

In this report, the dynamic response of a liquid metal target container for pulsed spallation neutron sources have been simulated using both a commercial code and a self-developed program. The main features and differences of both programs are presented. A transient thermal analysis was first examined with coupled and uncoupled heat equations. Temperature distribution results showed that the coupling effect between two pulses can be neglected. Stress waves due to direct pulsing have been calculated on the target container, investigating the effects of loading rate and structure thickness. Results from the transient thermal-structural analysis showed that, due to inertia effects, the dynamic stress in the target container is contributed mainly from direct heating in the initial time stage, and later from the pressure wave in the target liquid as it reaches the container wall.