Experimental and numerical simulation study of a light UAV impacting a typical airliner flat tail structure

To evaluate the flight safety threat of unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV）to other aircraft in the air，experiments and numerical simulations of UAV impacting the aircraft structure must be carried out. Based on the launch test system of large caliber special-shaped air cannon，the collision experiments between a light UAV and the flat tail of a typical airliner are carried out. The corresponding finite element numerical simulation model of UAV im pacting on the flat tail by using LS-DYNA software is established. The calculation results of the flat tail dynamic responses is compared with damage morphologies with experimental results. The numerical simulation method is used to study the effects of UAV attitudes on the impact damage of the flat tail. The results show that the UAV im pact is easy to cause penetrating damage to the leading edge of the flat tail，the pitching and rolling attitudes have a few effects on the impact damage of the flat tail，and the heading attitude has a greater effect，and the UAV battery has the risk of invading the interior of the flat tail and causing explosion and fire during the impact process.