Numerical Analysis of the Hydrodynamic Ram Phenomenon in Aircraft Fuel Tanks

Hydrodynamic ram (H RAM) is a phenomenon that occurs when a high-energetic object penetrates a fluid-filled container. The projectile transfers its momentum and kinetic energy through the fluid to the surrounding structure, increasing the risk of catastrophic failure and excessive structural damage on adjacent components. It is of particular concern in the design of wing fuel tanks for aircraft because it has been identified as one of the important factors in aircraft vulnerability. To study the aforementioned phenomenon, water-filled aluminum tubes (to different volume percentages) were subjected to impact of spherical projectiles. This work is focused on the analysis of energies, momenta, and pressure contours obtained by means of a previously developed and validated numerical model to achieve a better understanding of the fluid/structure interaction problem that takes place during the HRAM phenomenon.This research was done with the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under Project references DPI/2008-06408 and DPI/2010-15123, and of the Region of Madrid and University Carlos III of Madrid under Project reference CCG10-UC3M/DPI-4694Publicad