Study of bird strike on an improved leading edge structure

The feasibility of anti-bird strike design of using fibre metal laminates (FMLs) skin is studied for a typical leading edge structure. The model of bird strike on the leading edge structure is established by explicit finite element code PAM-CRASH using the constitutive model parameters of bird materials which are verified by the experimental results of bird strike on plate. Then, the processes of bird strike on the leading edges with aluminum and FMLs skins are respectively studied by numerical simulation, in which deformation modes, failure modes and energy absorption of the leading edge structures are investigated. The results show that FMLs with appropriate laminate layers can effectively improve the anti-bird strike performance of the leading edge. The conclusion could have some reference values on anti-bird strike study of the aircraft structure.