Numerical Simulation of a Flight Recorder’s Protective Case Penetration Resistance Test

Development of a durable flight recorder’s protective case is a very difficult engineering problem. To save information, the case must be strong enough to withstand intensive accidental thermal and mechanical loading in aircraft crash. So the case must meets strong requirements. One of the toughest of these demands is that any flight recorder’s case must be strong enough to withstand a penetration resistance test - an impact of pin at any angle at a speed of 7.7 m/s. This paper presents the results of a series of 3D numerical simulations of penetration resistance test of a flight recorder’s protective case. The simulations performed with LS-DYNA. The computer simulations showed the most severe direction of pin impact to the case.