Numerical analysis of drop impact-induced damage of a composite fuel tank assembly on a helicopter considering liquid sloshing

Abstract

The study examined the structural damage and impact behavior of a composite fuel tank assembly subjected to drop impact based on the fluid–structure interaction analysis. It was implemented using a coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian method, and the Hashin failure criteria were considered to evaluate the damaged area and tendency of the assembly for the composite failure modes. We investigated the effects of the critical parameters, namely the amount of fuel and drop impact angle, on the damage of the assembly during the drop impact. The results indicated that the failed area of the assembly became significant when the amount of liquid fuel increased, and the drop impact angle aggravated the damage on the assembly. It is expected that the findings can be utilized as guidelines for drop impact tests and for assessing the airworthiness of a composite fuel tank assembly in the future.