MODELLING DROP IMPACT AND FRACTURE OF FLUID-FILLED PLASTIC CONTAINERS
Drop impact resistance of fluid-filled plastic containers is of considerable concern to plastics and containers manufacturers as well as distribution industries utilising containers for transportation of various liquids. This is due to potential failure of the containers following the drop impact and subsequent spillage of the transported liquid. In this work, a combined experimental-numerical study of the problem is presented. Experimental investigation was conducted on 1-litre cylindrical bottles made from polyethylene. Bottles were dropped from a given height onto a concrete floor, and pressure in the contained fluid was recorded during the experiment using pressure transducers. Numerical analysis was performed using Finite Volume based fluid-structure-fracture procedure. Here, Cohesive Zone methodology is introduced into the standard two-system solid-fluid coupling procedure to simulate and predict the failure process. It is shown that numerically predicted pressure and strain histories have good resemblance with experimental results.