Progress on hail impact resistance in aerospace composite structures research

With the widespread use of composite materials in aircraft structures, the structural safety of these materials under extreme meteorological conditions has become increasingly important. Hail can cause various types of damage to composite structures, such as delamination, fiber fracture, and interfacial debonding, which seriously threaten flight safety. This paper presents a systematic review on the design for hail impact resistance in aerospace composite structures, examining the mechanical characteristics of hail impact and its effects on the response behavior of composites. The study indicates that a suitable layup method, interfacial toughening technology, and core structure design can improve the energy dissipation capacity and damage suppression effectiveness of composite structures under hail impact. Additionally, self-healing composites are shown as a promising method for autonomous damage repair and extended service life. Ultimately, it is recommended that future research should focus on hailstone modeling, multiscale damage evolution mechanisms, and intelligent material design to support the structural safety design of aircraft in extreme climates.