Numerical Investigation on the Damage of Whirling Engine Blades Subjected to Bird Strike Impact

This research renders a numerical investigation of whirling engine blades subjected to bird strike impact. The numerical modelling of the bird strike investigation was conducted employing SPH. The bird model was established as a gelatine material and is the geometry of the bird was anticipated. As most bird strikes transpire during take-off and landing, the bird was modelled with a set velocity of 120m/s and is impacted on the engine blades, where the damage of the blades is then assessed. The engine blades were modelled as a tetrahedron mesh for accuracy in LS-DYNA software and are rotating at 200 rad/s counter-clockwise. The engine blade material is modelled with Johnson-Cook failure constants. The results are manifested as effective stresses, which shows the structural damage of the engine blades struck by the bird, which induces deflection that significantly damages the blades. Further assessments of bird velocity and engine blade rotation variations are also presented.