Crashworthiness of a Composite Wing Section: Numerical Investigation of the Bird Strike Phenomenon by Using a Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian Approach

Crashworthiness is defined as the capability of a structure to guarantee its occupants safety during a crash event. In the present work, the crashworthiness of a composite wing section, subjected to a bird strike event, has been investigated. Indeed, the mechanical behavior of the impacted wing section has been inspected by means of the FE code Abaqus/Explicit. The impact phenomenon has been numerically simulated with a coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) approach. The impacted structure has been modeled considering a Lagrangian formulation, while a Eulerian one has been used to model the bird. Moreover, Eulerian–Lagrangian contacts are used for transfer the loads arising from the impact event to the Lagrangian structure. The proposed numerical model, capable to take into account the matrix and fiber traction and compression damages, uses a 3D finite element approach to better predict the deformations and the damages onset and propagation during the impact event. The numerical results, in terms of structural deformation and damage onset and propagation, have been obtained by considering different impact locations and different impact angles.