TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimization design for bird strike resistance of blended-wing-body civil aircraft cabin windows
AU - Zhang, Yongjie
AU - Zhou, Qingwu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Masson SAS
PY - 2026/1
Y1 - 2026/1
N2 - The Blended-Wing-Body (BWB) civil aircraft achieves a significant advancement in aerodynamic efficiency through its integrated airframe-wing design, surpassing the limitations of conventional "tube-and-wing" configurations. However, the flattened fuselage of the aircraft exposes the cabin windows to the windward surface for the first time, creating a potential risk of cabin depressurization in the event of a bird strike. Existing airworthiness regulations (CCAR 25.365) do not specify explicit bird strike resistance requirements for cabin windows, and traditional "tube-and-wing" protection strategies cannot be directly adapted due to aerodynamic differences.In this study, a finite element model (FEM) for BWB cabin windows was developed using the Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS). After verifying the static strength of the model under extreme loads, a surrogate model was created, and multi-objective optimization was performed using Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) and the NSGA-II algorithm. The optimized structure achieved a 19.54 % reduction in mass, though the maximum Tsai-Wu failure factor increased by 8.95 %. To simulate the impact of a 3.6 kg bird at 140 m/s (18.43°angle), a coupling algorithm using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics-Finite Element Method (SPH-FEM) was employed. To improve bird strike resistance, a double-layer reinforcement design was proposed, consisting of 2024-T3 aluminum and CMS-CP-306 composite materials. A surrogate model was developed, and the Multi-island Genetic Algorithm (GA) was used to optimize the metal/composite layer thicknesses, resulting in a 60.34 % reduction in mass and a 95.39 % decrease in the area of cabin depressurization damage.This study introduces a pioneering method for evaluating bird strike resistance of BWB cabin windows, providing crucial technical support for BWB airworthiness certification and offering a reference for future bird strike experiments on BWB aircraft.
AB - The Blended-Wing-Body (BWB) civil aircraft achieves a significant advancement in aerodynamic efficiency through its integrated airframe-wing design, surpassing the limitations of conventional "tube-and-wing" configurations. However, the flattened fuselage of the aircraft exposes the cabin windows to the windward surface for the first time, creating a potential risk of cabin depressurization in the event of a bird strike. Existing airworthiness regulations (CCAR 25.365) do not specify explicit bird strike resistance requirements for cabin windows, and traditional "tube-and-wing" protection strategies cannot be directly adapted due to aerodynamic differences.In this study, a finite element model (FEM) for BWB cabin windows was developed using the Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS). After verifying the static strength of the model under extreme loads, a surrogate model was created, and multi-objective optimization was performed using Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) and the NSGA-II algorithm. The optimized structure achieved a 19.54 % reduction in mass, though the maximum Tsai-Wu failure factor increased by 8.95 %. To simulate the impact of a 3.6 kg bird at 140 m/s (18.43°angle), a coupling algorithm using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics-Finite Element Method (SPH-FEM) was employed. To improve bird strike resistance, a double-layer reinforcement design was proposed, consisting of 2024-T3 aluminum and CMS-CP-306 composite materials. A surrogate model was developed, and the Multi-island Genetic Algorithm (GA) was used to optimize the metal/composite layer thicknesses, resulting in a 60.34 % reduction in mass and a 95.39 % decrease in the area of cabin depressurization damage.This study introduces a pioneering method for evaluating bird strike resistance of BWB cabin windows, providing crucial technical support for BWB airworthiness certification and offering a reference for future bird strike experiments on BWB aircraft.
KW - BWB civil aircraft cabin windows
KW - Bird strike
KW - Bird strike reinforcement
KW - Design optimization
KW - SPH
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105014606901
U2 - 10.1016/j.ast.2025.110831
DO - 10.1016/j.ast.2025.110831
M3 - 文章
AN - SCOPUS:105014606901
SN - 1270-9638
VL - 168
JO - Aerospace Science and Technology
JF - Aerospace Science and Technology
M1 - 110831
ER -