Applying Fem for Development of an Impact Resistant Aircraft Windshield

Aircraft windshields are reported as one of the most common components struck by foreign objects during aircraft flight. An impact resistant windshield enhances flight safety and improves survivability following a high-energy impact. This paper presents the state-of-art simulation technique developed at Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., for developing lightweight, impactresistant windshields. The constitutive parameters of windshield materials were calibrated against coupon test data with wide strain and strain-rate ranges. The Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) technique was employed to simulate a soft impact object, such as a bird. Numerical experiments were conducted to validate the SPH model and to determine the appropriate parameters. Validated models were subsequently applied to simulate multiple cases of impact against rotorcraft windshields. The developed analytical technique is capable of accurately predicting the dynamic responses and structural failures for an aircraft windshield subjected to high-energy impact.