Structural assemblies for military applications must be guaranteed to withstand normal operating environments. Traditionally, experimental testing is performed on a prototype of the object to understand how it will behave under potential failure conditions. However, this process can be time-consuming and expensive, and it is often desired to have preliminary information to guide the design of the components. Consequently, a finite element analysis (FEA) can be performed using computational tools to approximate the failure behavior of the object before experiments are performed. This can provide information for a faster preliminary evaluation of the design, which very useful when implementing new technologies in the defense sector.
Currently, a new design for collapsible, lightweight ammunition package (LAP) has been proposed for military applications. The design employs rubber gaskets which enable the LAP to fold when it is empty, in addition to carbon fiber walls which decrease weight while increasing strength. To evaluate the new design, it is desired to perform a finite element analysis to simulate the behavior of the can under various drop impact conditions. Because the design includes complex joinery, which is often difficult to model, the purpose of this thesis project is to determine the most effective methodology to define the physical system using finite elements for impact simulations, and consequently perform the desired analysis for the LAP.