Bird Strike Analysis of a Composite Aircraft Wing

Abstract

Bird strikes have been a concern to aviation safety in both civil and military aircrafts. The external surfaces of an aircraft which include wing leading edges are susceptible to bird-strikes. Recently topology optimization is used to realize an aircraft wing concept design using Aluminum in (2009) [1] and optimize its weight. To make it lighter further, a composite wing was derived in (2010) [2]. Here, Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs) with layers of aluminium alloy and high strength glass fibre have been used. The impact analysis is performed using a SPH model for the bird. Based on the modal analysis, the impact time is determined to capture the modes with high participation factor. The response obtained in time domain is converted to frequency domain and it is shown that the response has predominantly these modal components. For the given FMLs wing configuration the stress levels obtained are well within the orthotropic yield limits of the structure. All the layers of the composite structure are found to be intact.