Numerical Simulation of Bird Impact on Fibre Metal Laminates

A finite element model of bird impact on the Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs) was established with the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and finite element method in the software PAM-CRASH. The bird was modeled with the SPH elements in order to avoid the bird mesh distortion. It studied the sensitivities of some important parameters to the dynamic response of bird strike on FMLs, which included the configuration of the FMLs, the orientation of the composite layup, and the type and thickness of the metal. The results of the simulation show that the bird strike ability of the configuration (2/1) is better than the configuration (3/2). The bird strike ability of FMLs with the composite layup [45 degrees/-45 degrees] is better than the composite layup [0 degrees/90 degrees]. FMLs with aluminum alloy 2024T3 and metal thickness 0.4mm is the best for the anti-bird strike. Lastly, the bird strike simulation was carried out for the wing leading edge structures with three different skins, aluminum alloy skin and two FMLs skins. The analysis results show that the bird strike ability of the wing leading edge structures with FMLs skin is greatly improved.