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  • Bird Strike Simulator

    All new aircraft engine designs are required to undergo foreign object damage (FOD) testing before they are certified to ensure safety.

    Davis has more than 15 years experience designing and fabricating high speed delivery systems for aircraft certification and other systems.

Bird Strike Simulation for Engine Certification

Davis has been designing and manufacturing FOD delivery systems for more than 15 years for clients such at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Pratt & Whitney Canada and the University of New Brunswick. These systems have typically been used to deliver simulated bird strikes and ice ball strikes at extremely high speeds. Davis has performed test firings that have delivered FOD at more than 900 km/h (that's Mach 0.75).

  • Bird strike simulator test firings

Davis has manufactured bird strike simulators (also sometimes called "chicken guns" or "chicken cannons") that have been capable of delivering up to 4 simultaneous bird strikes. Barrels have ranged from 6 inches in diameter (internal) to 10 inches in diameter. Our design propels the FOD using compressed air and utilizes an extremely high speed butterfly valve to maximize the energy delivered to the sabot, in which the FOD is placed. A sabot catcher at the end of the barrel stops the sabot while the FOD continues traveling forward.

  • Bird strike simulator installation at University of New Brunswick

  • Test firing 4 simultaneous large ice balls

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