HCL Technologies Bird Strike Simulation for Composite Vertical Stabilizer

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HCL Technologies Bird Strike Simulation for Composite Vertical Stabilizer

Case study showing how HCL used Abaqus FEA to simulate bird strike on composite and hybrid vertical stabilizers and reduce physical testing for flight certification.

Published

June 4, 2026

Read time

3 min read

Source

HCL Technologies engineers in Bangalore designed a lightweight vertical stabilizer using composite and hybrid materials. They applied Abaqus finite element analysis to model bird strike impacts, comparing Lagrangian and Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian methods. Simulation validated a 20-ply hybrid layup that met FAA and EASA requirements, limiting the need for costly physical cannon tests during certification.

Key takeaways

Abaqus CEL method delivered more accurate soft-body impact results than Lagrangian meshing for bird strike.

20-ply hybrid design with outer aluminum layer survived four-pound bird impact at cruise speed.

Progressive damage models in Abaqus captured fiber rupture, matrix cracking, and delamination in composites.

Simulation reduced physical testing scope while supporting regulatory compliance for empennage structures.

Vendor-neutral FEA enabled HCL to integrate Abaqus with multiple customer design tools.

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