TITLE:
High-Velocity Impact Studies on Scaled Leading Edges of Horizontal Tail with Smart Composite Layers
AUTHORS:
Basavanna Rangaiah, Dhayanidhi Jeevarathinam, Raja Samikkannu, Karisiddappa
KEYWORDS:
Glass Fibre Shape Memory Polymer (GF-SMP), Scaled Model, High-Velocity Impact, Leading Edge (LE), Piezoelectric Sensor (PZT)
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aerospace Science and Technology,
Vol.7 No.1,
March
16,
2022
ABSTRACT: Bird strike studies on typical aluminium leading
edges of the Horizontal Tail (HT) with
and without Glass Fibre Shape Memory Polymer (GF-SMP) layers are carried out. A one-fifth scaled model of HT is designed and fabricated.
The parameters like bird dimension and energy requirements are accordingly scaled to conduct the bird strike tests. Two
leading-edge components have been prepared, namely one with AL 2024-T3 aluminium
alloy and the other specimen of the same dimension and material, additionally having
GF-SMP composite layers inside the metallic leading edge, in order to enhance
its impact resistance. Bird strike experiments are performed on both the
specimens, impacting at the centre of the leading edge in the nose tip region
with an impact velocity of 115 m/s. The test
component is instrumented with linear post-yield strain gauges on the
top side and the PZT sensors on the bottom. Furthermore, the impact scenario is
monitored using a high-speed camera at 7000 fps. The bird strike event is simulated by an
equation of state model, in which the mass of the bird is idealized using smooth particle hydrodynamics element in PAMCRASH? explicit solver. The strain magnitude and its
pattern including time duration are found to
be in a good correlation between test and simulation. Key metrics are evaluated to devise
an SHM scheme for the load and impact event monitoring
using strain gauges and PZT sensors. GF-SMP layers have improved the impact
resistance of the aluminium leading edge which is certainly encouraging towards finding a novel
solution for the high-velocity impact.