Bird strike / jet impact – solution concept plausibility question:

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the impact of bird strikes on jet propulsion intakes, specifically questioning whether an idle engine would reduce the likelihood of critical damage during such events. It concludes that the airflow pattern from an idled engine does not significantly alter the outcome due to the high relative velocity between the aircraft and the bird. Additionally, the limitations of turbine engines regarding their spool up and spool down rates prevent rapid activation or deactivation in-flight, making it impractical to avoid bird strikes through engine management. The conversation highlights the need for advanced sensor technologies to detect imminent impacts.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of jet propulsion systems and their operational mechanics
  • Knowledge of bird strike dynamics and their effects on aircraft
  • Familiarity with turbine engine spool up and spool down rates
  • Awareness of current sensor technologies for impact detection
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the mechanics of jet propulsion systems, focusing on idle and active states
  • Explore studies on bird strike impacts on aircraft and mitigation strategies
  • Investigate advancements in sensor technologies for real-time impact detection
  • Examine the physics of airflow dynamics around jet engines during various operational states
USEFUL FOR

Aerospace engineers, aviation safety professionals, and anyone involved in aircraft design and bird strike mitigation strategies will benefit from this discussion.

Id10t
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Would a bird strike impact with an in-flight jet propulsion intake have a significantly less probability of avoiding critical damage if the jet intake was fully idle or non-active at the point of impact?

Would the air-flow pattern of an abruptly idled engine perhaps even help by greatly increasing the likelihood that the bird might be forced harmlessly around the engine instead of inexorably through it as one would obviously expect when such an engine is active?

Assuming that the computer based sensor and control technologies existed today that could detect an imminent small object impact within a second or at least a fraction of a second warning, are there basic jet propulsion system limitations that make fully starting or stopping such an engine in-flight in such a manner impossible?

I’m no rocket scientist and I’ve not studied physics. Even beginning to assess or calculate the factors involved in any of these sorts of questions are well beyond me, but hopefully this is a welcome and appropriate forum for such questions (otherwise, please forgive me as I’ve just newly stumbled upon this forum).
 
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Overall, turbine engines can not accelerate at those kinds of rates. There is a finite spool up and spool down rate because of the rotating mass.

As far as the airflow question, it would be negligible because the relative velocity between the aircraft and the bird are so high.
 

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