Modelling the behaviour of UAVs structural materials under continuous laser irradiations

Whereas laser weapon systems are foreseen as a new possibility to counter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a better understanding of the complex phenomena occurring during the interaction of a high-energy laser beam with a flying structure is required to use those new innovative defense devices in an efficient but also a secure way. This paper first presents multiple material characterizations performed on glass fibers-reinforced plastics (GFRP), from which near-infrared spectroscopic data and high-temperature thermodynamic results are later implemented into multiphysics simulations. Numerical outcomes from the models are then compared to experimental recordings arising from laser trials carried out with varying power densities (75, 150 and 300 W/cm2) and with illumination times of several seconds. A very good agreement is shown between temperature data collected during laser experiments and temperature values from computations.