The IMDEA Materials Institute will design the protective shields against high velocity ice impact for the new generation of Airbus planes.

Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, has evaluated new configurations for its new generation of airplanes the A30X, which will replace the A320 on short and medium-haul routes. Among the new characteristics of the aircraft is the feature that the engines will not be placed under the wings as has been the case traditionally, but instead will be located by the tail. The viability of this new configuration requires previously dealing with the effect of the high velocity impact of ice slabs coming from the propeller blades, which would strike the composite material panels of the fuselage at very high speeds.

To this end, Airbus Operations has entrusted the design work of a protective shield against the impact of these ice slabs to the IMDEA Materials Institute, which will develop new designs based on multifunctional multi-materials.

A team from IMDEA Materials, in collaboration with Carlos III University and the Technical University of Madrid, will use advanced simulation techniques to optimize the performance of the different designs against impacts, within the weight and thickness specifications. The performance of these prototypes will be experimentally tested using high velocity ice slab impact trials at the facilities of Carlos III University, and the damage produced by the impact will be assessed by non-destructive analytical techniques (ultrasounds and x-ray microtomography). The experimental results in terms of mechanical performance and damage will be used to improve the predictive capability of the simulations tools.