Review of current research trends in bird strike and hail impact simulations on wing leading edge

Abstract

Purpose Bird strike and hail impact resistances are considered in relation to the fulfilment of airworthiness/crashworthiness regulations as specified by appropriate aviation authorities. Before aircraft are allowed to go into service, these regulations must be fulfilled. This includes the adaption of the wing leading edge (LE) structure to smart diagnostics and an easy repair. This paper aims to focus on the wing LE, although all forward-facing aircraft components are exposed to the impact of foreign object during the flight. The best practices based on credible simulations which may be appropriate means of establishing compliance with European Aviation safety Agency and Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding bird strikes, together with the problem of collisions with hailstones, are overviewed in aspect of accuracy and computing cost. Design/methodology/approach The best means of evaluating worldwide certification standards so as to be more efficient for all stakeholders by reducing risk and costs (time and money consuming) of certification process are recommended. The very expensive physical tests may be replaced by adequate and credible computer simulations. The adequate credible simulation must be verified and validated. The statistical approaches for modelling the uncertainty are presented in aspect of computing cost. Findings The simulation models have simplifications and assumptions that generate an uncertainty. The uncertainty must be identified in benchmarking tests. Instead of using “in house” physical tests, there are scientific papers available in open literature thanks to the new trend in worldwide publication of the research results. These large databases can be efficiently transform into useful benchmark thanks to data mining and knowledge discovery methods and big data analyses. The physical test data are obtained from tests on the ground-based demonstrator by using high-speed cameras and a structural health monitoring system, and therefore, they should be applied at an early stage of the design process. Originality/value The sources of uncertainty in simulation models are expressed, and the way to their assessment is presented based on statistical approaches. A brief review of the current research shows that it widely uses efficient numerical analysis and computer simulations and is based on finite element methods, mesh structure as well as mesh free particle models. These methods and models are useful to analyse airworthiness requirements for damage tolerance regarding bird-strike and hail impact and haves been subjected to critical review in this paper. Many original papers were considered in this analysis, and some of them have been critically reviewed and commented upon.

New hail impact simulation models on composite laminated wing leading edge

“…The Lagrangian approach, techniques based on Eulerian or Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) approach and more recent solvers based on meshless Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) Method can be used in modelling. The most suitable model for high-speed impact based on meshless SPH method was chosen based on a research review described in (Goraj and Kustron, 2018).…”

“…The studies of soft body impact on composite structures use the SPH method combined with a material law for hydrodynamic solid that can be used for modelling the flow and large deformations in the impactor in simulations of hail impacting. FEM and SPH give the best correlations with tests in comparison to the other listed methods (Goraj and Kustron, 2018). As an ice-ball was used as the impactor material, the elastic-plastic contribution to the material behaviour was neglected and the material model reduced to the equations of state (EOS) for pressure.…”

Bird-strike damage analysis of composite panels with different stiffeners

“…Furthermore, different stiffened panel structures under the bird strike have not been fully considered, which should be 10.1 GPa considered for further applications. Numerical simulation is a typical design tool for optimizing aircraft structures for impacts by foreign objects such as birds (Goraj and Kustron, 2018), and bird strike simulation has been successfully applied to aircraft design for product design verification, testing and certification (Perdikoulis et al, 2021). Therefore, this paper investigated the bird impact damage of stiffened panels with different shapes of stiffeners by numerical methods, and the results obtained can provide guidelines for the design of fuselage skin stiffened panels.…”

Microstructure, Residual Stresses, and Strain-Rate-Dependent Deformation and Fracture Behavior of AISI 304L Joints Brazed with NiCrSiB Filler Metals

“…The exact determination of the mechanical properties of construction materials is important for automotive and especially aerospace constructions due to the high safety standards [1]. The materials used for the latter require high strength and resistance to impact loads, which can be caused by bird strikes or hail [2]. The exact knowledge of these properties is necessary to ensure structural integrity throughout the whole operational life of an aircraft or helicopter.…”