I have a system where I'm dropping glass tubes filled with some sample from a certain height, along a track. I can apply a back-pressure of air to push them down faster, and in general the faster they go, the better. Additionally, the thinner the tube the better.

I'm looking for a framework for how to analyze the resistance to shock, and the relative strength of either a flat-bottomed glass tube landing on a flat-bottomed surface, or a round-bottomed glass tube landing on a round-bottomed surface. I'd also like to know how resistance to shock scales with tube thickness, because in the end I'm specifically trying to get a sense of how thick do I have to make a flat-bottomed tube before it will be able to survive the same drop speed as a round-bottomed tube.

I don't necessarily need an exact answer to this question - I realize there are a lot of parameters in the equation. I more or less just need to know how to approach each element in the problem. Ideally I'd like to set up some equation as a function of the size of the vessel and the force and some mechanical property of the glass, but if that's too complicated, a more general framework for estimating the relative strength of each tube is fine.

Hopefully this is appropriate for this SE, as there doesn't seem to be a mechanical engineering version.

I have a system where I'm dropping glass tubes filled with some sample from a certain height, along a track. I can apply a back-pressure of air to push them down faster, and in general the faster they go, the better. Additionally, the thinner the tube the better.

I'm looking for a framework for how to analyze the resistance to shock, and the relative strength of either a flat-bottomed glass tube landing on a flat-bottomed surface, or a round-bottomed glass tube landing on a round-bottomed surface. I'd also like to know how resistance to shock scales with tube thickness, because in the end I'm specifically trying to get a sense of how thick do I have to make a flat-bottomed tube before it will be able to survive the same drop speed as a round-bottomed tube.

I don't necessarily need an exact answer to this question - I realize there are a lot of parameters in the equation. I more or less just need to know how to approach each element in the problem. Ideally I'd like to set up some equation as a function of the size of the vessel and the force and some mechanical property of the glass, but if that's too complicated, a more general framework for estimating the relative strength of each tube is fine.