Simulation supports aircraft safety

From analyzing crashes to hard landings, the industry is evolving in how much it relies on CAE simulation to provide safer aircraft designs. As aircraft systems become more complex, simulation itself is evolving as well.

Safety in all its forms is a critical requirement for aircraft. Crash analysis, crash preventions, turbulence, engine mishap in air, or runway overshoots are just some of the scenarios aircraft designers need to consider. “Aircraft safety is very broad because much of what we think of as safety is not only in the aircraft itself but in the human interactions between crew and their aircraft,” explained Dave Reimer in an interview with AE. He is the Vice President of Aerospace and Defense Strategy for Siemens PLM, with a viewpoint formed over 30 years of experience.

Making the job more difficult is what he calls the new realities of aerospace development. “More people are collaborating, searching for more information, making complex product decisions in less time,” he explained. For example, tens of thousands of requirements statements define today's aircraft programs, with safety an integral part of many of them. The complex, integrated nature of today's aircraft systems requires integrated analysis to determine if every one of those interrelated requirements is met, according to Reimer. For example, flight controls are combined hydraulic and electrical systems that control propulsion, electrical generation and distribution, and aircraft surfaces, he explained.