Comparison between test and analysis of a tank bulkhead loaded in the plastic range

For qualification and verification, the common bulkhead of the Ariane 5 tank structure has been submitted to detailed finite element analyses by means of the finite element code ABAQUS. In doing so the doubly curved variable-thickness geometry of the bulkhead segments has been discretized by a sufficiently fine shell element meshing and the finite element analyses have been extended far into the geometrically and physically nonlinear regime. A proof pressure load case has been evaluated and an ultimate failure analysis has been performed. The calculated results correspond well with test findings and qualify ABAQUS as a very good dimensioning tool for highly stressed thin walled structures.