Mechanical Optimization of UAV Components for Bird Strike Resistance Using Tensegrity-Inspired Structure Design

Kuik, Zi Kang (2026) Mechanical Optimization of UAV Components for Bird Strike Resistance Using Tensegrity-Inspired Structure Design. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

The widespread deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in low-altitude civilian and military operations has increasingly exposed them to the critical environmental hazard of bird strikes. Conventional UAV airframes generally composed of rigid structures, inherently lack the necessary impact resistance and energy absorption mechanisms to withstand highvelocity collisions without catastrophic failure. To address this structural vulnerability, this study investigates the integration of mechanical metamaterials specifically a lightweight, 6-bar icosahedral tensegrity-inspired airframe into small UAV design to enhance crashworthiness and resilience. The research methodology leverages algorithmic form-finding via Rhino/Grasshopper to establish a self-stressed structural equilibrium, followed by rigorous nonlinear transient dynamic simulations using ANSYS LS-DYNA. To accurately replicate the complex fluid-structure interactions during high-speed collisions, a standardized 1.8 kg bird model was developed utilizing the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. A comparative impact analysis evaluated the tensegrity structure against a conventional polycarbonate DJI Phantom 4 airframe. The tensegrity configuration was systematically optimized using the Design of Experiments (DOE) approach, varying internal pre-stress levels with increment of 15%, 30% and 45% based on minimum prestress of tensegrity structure. DOE in this research also evaluating different continuous tensile cable materials of Dyneema, Kevlar, and braided Nylon to maximize impact mitigation. Simulation results demonstrate that the tensegrity-inspired design achieves a profound weight reduction, weighing only 0.0315 kg compared to the conventional frame’s 0.286 kg. Furthermore, it vastly outperforms the conventional rigid airframe in mass efficiency, yielding a Specific Energy Absorption (SEA) of 762 J/kg compared to the standard frame’s 551 J/kg. Ultimately, this research mathematically validates the structural viability of tensegrity mechanisms as a highly efficient, lightweight paradigm for global kinetic energy dissipation, offering significant improvements in aerial robotics survivability against high-energy impacts