Modeling of a Simple Prestressed Panel Impacted by a Moderate Velocity Projectile
by
Karen H. Lyle
US Army Vehicle Technology Directorate
Coauthors: D. R. Ambur (NASA Langley Research Center)

Abstract of a Proposed Paper Third International Conference on Nonlinear Problems in Aviation and Aerospace – Methods and Software Daytona Beach, FL May 10-12, 2000 Modeling of a Simple Prestressed Panel Impacted by a Moderate Velocity Projectile K. H. Lyle US Army Research Laboratory, Vehicle Technology Directorate, Hampton, VA and D. R. Ambur NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA Recent interest has been generated in predicting the response of an aircraft fuselage impacted by an uncontained rotor burst. NASA Langley Research Center has initiated a program designed to predict the damage and response of typical sidewall panels when impacted by rotor fragments. The simulations to be presented in this paper were performed with the commercial, nonlinear, transient dynamic, finite element code MSC.Dytran. This paper will concentrate on simulating the response of a simple aluminum panel (12.0 x 12.0 x 0.064 in.) impacted by a rectangular titanium fragment (3.875 x 5.0 x 0.218 in.). The target aircraft for this study include those that are pressurized during operation. Therefore implementation of prestress in a nonlinear, transient dynamic code and the effect of prestressing (ranging from 0 to 40,000 psi) on the panel response will be discussed. The effect of fragment impact velocity (ranging for 1000 to 4000 in/s) will also be presented. The simulation results will be compared based on a number of global parameters including panel kinetic and strain energies as well as the momentum of the projectile. In addition, local results such as maximum plastic strain and element failure will also be shown.

Date received: January 14, 2000