Comparing different fidelity models for the impact analysis of large commercial aircrafts on a containment building

Three Boeing 767 finite element models with different fidelities are built using CATIA, Hypermesh and LS-DYNA in this study. The impacts of these models on a rigid wall and a containment building are simulated with LS-DYNA. The simulation results show that the time histories of the impact forces and impulses differ significantly among these models for the low-speed impact case. With the increase of the impact velocity, the time histories of impact forces and the damage of the containment building become similar. Moreover, the impact on the back side of the containment building will occur only when the high fidelity model impacts the containment building with a high velocity. The over-simplified aircraft models will underestimate the impact load and induce a different failure mode compared to the high fidelity model. The internal structures of an aircraft should be accounted for in the impact simulation. This investigation provides a reference for further studies of aircraft impacts on containment buildings.