New hail impact simulation models on composite laminated wing leading edge

The risk of hail-impact occurrence that can decrease local strength property must be taken into account in the design of primary airframe structures in aviation, energy and space industries. Because of the high-speed of hail impact in operation, it can affect the load carrying capacity. Testing all impact scenarios onto real structure is expensive and impractical. The purpose of this paper is to present a cost-effective hybrid testing regime including experimental tests and FEM-based simulations for airframe parts that are locally exposed to the impacting hail in flight.

Tested samples (specimens) are flat panels of laminated and sandwich carbon/epoxy composites that are used in designing lightweight new airframes. The presented numerical simulations provide a cost effective and convenient tool for investigating the hail impact scenarios in the design process. The smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) technique was selected for the simulation of projectiles. The most commonly used shape of projectiles in hail impact tests is the ice ball with a defined diameter. The proposed simulation technique was verified and validated in tests on flat composite panels (specimens).

Integration of the numerical analyses with high-speed impact tests of hail onto flat laminated and sandwich composite shells has been presented, and a developed simulation model for impact results assessment was obtained.

The tested coupons (specimens) are flat panels as representative of structural design deployed in real aircraft structures. These numerical simulations provide a cost effective and convenient tool for hail impact scenarios in the design process.