Abstract:
This study investigates the use of finite element analysis to model and predict the response of aircraft structures to high velocity bird strikes, a critical safety concern for civil and military aviation. A simplified 1.82 kg homogenous bird model was developed using the Lagrangian formulation and validated against experimental data by comparing impact pressure profiles, Hugoniot and stagnation pressures, and bird trajectories during collisions at 116 m/s with rigid targets. While the numerical model closely reproduced pressure histories and trajectories, it predicted higher stagnation and Hugoniot pressures, attributed to model assumptions. The study extended to compare the Lagrangian, Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE), and Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) formulations by simulating impacts on elastic aluminum panels, finding close conformity among the methods and demonstrating their applicability for impact simulations. Finally, the effect of windscreen curvature was studied by applying finite element models to composite and glass transparency panels, showing that curvature significantly influences stress distribution, with curved transparencies experiencing higher initial stresses than flat ones. The analyses emphasize the effectiveness of finite element techniques in capturing dynamic impact behavior, validating alternative formulations, and providing insights into structural performance where empirical testing is limited, ultimately offering a reliable tool for improving design safety against bird strikes.
