Crashworthy Component Design of an Ultra-light Helicopter with Energy Absorbing Composite Structure

The crashworthiness of aviation is a significant aspect of airworthiness, because it helps a lot in keeping crew safety and reducing economic losses. For the purpose of improving the crashworthiness performance of a kind of general aviation-type helicopter, an innovative light-weight composite energy-absorbing component has been developed in this paper. This component consists of carbon fiber woven cylindrical thin-walled tube and external triggers. The triggers let the cylindrical thin-walled tube split and break along its longitudinal axis and the energy is absorbed at the same time. In order to verify the results, a serial of test components were made and several tests were carried on. Finally, a digital simulation was carried on, whose results correspond with those of the tests.