Experiment-Based Explicit Dynamics Analysis for Bird Strike Damage Prediction in Composite Structures

Bird strike analysis is a common type of analysis performed during the design and analysis of rotorcraft. These simulations are carried out in order to predict whether various designs will pass the necessary certification tests. In the past, the only way to determine whether forward-facing aeronautical composite structures could withstand bird strikes was with time-consuming physical tests. In the research of bird striking, the bird impact test is the most effective method. But the existing data of test results are highly disperse, so that they do less help for the design of aeronautical composite structures and also cost more. Tests usually needed to be repeated several times because components often failed and were required for each new design. There is a large variability in numerical bird models, composite modeling approaches and complexity of simulation processes to design the sandwich structures of an aircraft. This paper investigates the composite structures modeling for bird strike phenomenon by using state-of-the-art modeling tools capable of predicting the experiment-based composite structural damage, damage location, failure size and failure mode due to impact and addresses a critical review on analysis techniques. This paper also demonstrates the state-of-the-art bird strike simulation methodology developed, and the accuracy of modeling approaches available in explicit codes is discussed. © 2018, ASM International.