Experimental Based Numerical Studies of Bird Impact Response on Helicopter Horizontal Stabilizer

The soft body high energy impact response on rotorcraft composite layered structures is investigated by analysis based on tests carried out. The experimentally and numerically assessed deformation and energy absorption capabilities of Horizontal stabilizer is attributed under high energy bird impact, which is an important aspect in the computer simulations for correlation studies followed by any design modifications. The ability to withstand bird impact of forward facing components is one of the major requirements of rotorcraft to comply bird strike certification test requirement. The main difficulties encountered in achieving accurate finite element analysis are related to modeling of the bird which undergoes severe deformations and the state-of-the art of composite layered modeling. The current study further investigates the impact behavior of soft body projectiles on Horizontal stabilizer through full scale testing.