UAHuntsville graduate, professor publish research paper in Journal of Applied Physics

A research paper co-authored by a University of Alabama in Huntsville professor and an aerospace transparencies engineer at PPG Industries appeared in the April 1 issue of Journal of Applied Physics.

The paper describes a mathematical model for predicting damage and failure of brittle materials under high-velocity impact, and the research is intended to assist in the design of bird strike-resistant aircraft windshields.

The paper, "Crack-mechanics based brittle damage model including nonlinear equation of state and porosity growth," is by Luis E. Deganis, PPG structural analysis engineering associate at the company's aerospace transparencies operation in Huntsville and Dr. Q. H. Ken Zuo, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UAHuntsville. The paper is based on Deganis' master’s degree thesis at the university.

The authors' model is believed to improve upon a crack-mechanics based damage model previously developed by Zuo and collaborators at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The new model accounts for porosity growth and shockwave development in brittle materials subjected to high-velocity impact, enabling it to analyze the response of glass aircraft windshields struck by birds during flight, according to Deganis.

"Aircraft windshields are typically laminates with structural plies of glass, plastic or a combination," Deganis said. "By accounting for the damage progression in these plies, the new model can aid in the future design of more efficient aircraft windshields."

Provided by University of Alabama in Huntsville