Analysis of a novel mobile aircraft explosive containment unit

This paper discusses the preliminary findings of a study aimed at devising an explosive containment unit and the relevant modeling strategies to assess the concept for use onboard commercial fleets. If a device with unknown origin were discovered on board of an aircraft mid-flight, it can be disposed inside this unit to prevent the passengers and the hardware from any potential harm. Using the properties of nominal explosives, the detonation pulse and ensuing shock and pressure waves were examined. The processed events included information about material properties, shape and sizes of concept explosive containment units. Special focus was placed on examining the effects of wall thickness and geometry inside the containment units. The preliminary results of this study indicate that, for a given detonation mass and intensity, an optimal containment unit geometry exists and can be found through the analysis methodology developed. Additionally, a relationship between wall thickness and structural response of the containment unit was discovered that will prove essential in future studies.