Study of similarity law for bird impact on structure

With dimensional analysis and similarity theory, the model similarity law of aircraft structures under bird impact load is investigated. Numerical calculations by means of nonlinear dynamic software ANSYS/LS-DYNA are conducted on the finite element models constructed with different scaling factors. The influence of strain rate on the model similarity law is found to be dependent on the strain rate sensitivity of materials and scale factors. Specifically, materials that are not sensitive to strain rate obey the model similarity law in the bird impact process. The conclusions obtained are supposed to provide a theoretical basis for the experimental work of bird impact on aircraft structure.