A theoretical model of honeycomb material arresting system for aircrafts

Takeoff and landing overruns account for most of the accidents that occur on or in the immediate vicinity of the runway, and it would cause accidental aircraft damage and loss of life. The current Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) materials are weak in water resistance and durability, expensive in acquiring and installing, and have negative environmental impacts. So it is significantly required to find a new alternative material with good mechanical properties, higher arresting coefficient and excellent environmental performance. In this article, the arresting properties of metal honeycomb material are studied. A Tire-Honeycomb material Interaction Mechanical Model (THIMM) is proposed. Combining with the dynamic model of aircraft, the theoretical model is coded by MATLAB to finish arresting simulation on aircraft B737-900ER and B727-100. In addition, finite element model of the tire-honeycomb material interaction was built to verify the correctness of the theoretical model. The results obtained by finite element simulation are in a good agreement with the theoretical results. In comparison with the results for traditional materials, the calculated results show that the honeycomb material can stop the overrunning aircraft more efficiently in the condition that the forces induced by the stopping process are safe for the passengers and aircraft.