Performance analysis of carbon fiber reinforced polymer against bird strike

Since the invention of powered flight, aviation safety has been affected by bird strikes, a significant risk worldwide. The aviation industry is turning to composite materials that provide high specific strength, superior corrosion resistance, and enhanced fatigue performance, with the objective of extending the service life of aircraft components while also achieving cost and weight advantages. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the structural effects of high velocity bird impacts on the leading edge of a composite wing. The bird and composite material models are validated with experimental data from the literature on titanium and carbon fiber-reinforced composite plates, respectively. The numerical analyses accurately predicted strain results. A wing leading edge structure with M40J composite skin was designed and subjected to bird strike simulations. Bird strike simulations were then conducted on the structure using different bird masses. The results showed that as the bird's size and mass increased, the severity of structural damage to the composite skin also increased. Furthermore, the effects of impact angle were analyzed, and it was observed that a decrease in the yaw impact angle reduced structural damage, whereas angled impacts along the pitch axis caused more severe damage. Furthermore, the influence of laminate stacking sequences on structural performance was investigated. In this context, M40J composite skins with cross-ply, angle-ply, anti-symmetric, and symmetric stacking sequences were analyzed and compared. The results showed that the cross-ply laminate exhibited the lowest performance, whereas angle-ply laminates with intermediate fiber angles and symmetric configurations provided superior impact resistance. These findings emphasize the critical role of stacking sequence in composite structural design and highlight the importance of optimizing fiber orientation to achieve lightweight yet resilient solutions.