Optimization Analysis on the Crashworthiness of Light Aircrafts

To protect passengers, large aircraft are equipped with multiple mechanisms to absorb impact energy during a crash. However, light aircraft rely only on the cabin structure to withstand the compression and energy generated during a crash. This study performed a topology optimization analysis on the model structure by using Abaqus/optimization and used strain energy as the objective function and cabin volume as a constraint to develop the optimal model. Subsequently, this work performed dynamic crash simulations based on the optimal and original models by using Abaqus/explicit. Compared with the original model, the optimal model yielded a 12% increase in the safety zone of the diagonal beams, a 13% increase in the X-direction safety zone, and a 10% increase in the overall safety zone. The results confirm that topology optimization can be used to effectively improve the crashworthiness of light aircraft. Optimization Analysis on the Crashworthiness of Light Aircrafts