Failure Behaviour of a Thin Domed Steel Disc with and without Scores Under a Pressure Impulse

The domed thin steel disc can be designed to act as a sacrificial pressure relief element to burst open at a predefined pressure limit. The deformation, burst, failure pattern and burst time of this disc, under a pressure impulse generated from an air blast, is governed by its score geometry and pattern. This paper analyses the dependence of these failure parameters on the number of scores, i.e. score pattern. The effects are investigated through numerical simulations using a non-linear explicit finite element analysis based on Lagrangean method. The large strain and strain rate hardening are captured through a visco-plastic constitutive model and damage through a continuum damage mechanics based Johnson–Cook model. This study reveals that a number of scores either 2, 3 or 4 may be preferred as far as the low responses in burst parameters are concerned but the selection of a particular number of scores between 2 and 4 depends on the choice of a designer in consideration with other design requirements.