The two-way coupling approach combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for modeling the multiphase water impact and finite element methods (FEM) for capturing local and global structural deformation. Higher-order coupled schemes are employed to simulate both rigid-body motion (e.g. trimming, pitch) and local panel responses. The resulting models enable engineers to assess ditching loads, energy absorption, structural damage risk and water ingress potential with unprecedented accuracy.

These capabilities make it possible to evaluate design concepts such as energy-absorbing fuselage structures, engine attachment breakaway loads or optimized landing gear bays at an early stage. The approach directly supports certification-related evaluations and reflects the increasing trend toward simulation-based regulatory acceptance by airworthiness authorities.

IBK Innovation GmbH & Co. KG contributes to InSiDE through the development, automation and validation of the coupled simulation framework. IBK’s role includes establishing a standardized process chain suitable for industrial use, setting up FSI simulation models, and validating them against available test data. Furthermore, IBK supports the definition of certification-relevant load cases and implements parametric workflows enabling efficient geometry and condition variation studies.

Through InSiDE, the consortium provides a major step toward a unified, simulation-driven ditching analysis process that will enable aircraft manufacturers to design for water impact robustness with reduced reliance on large-scale experiments. The results support both safety improvement and cost efficiency within future certification frameworks.

• Industrialized the complete ditching simulation process by integrating elastic aircraft structures into the DFTS Low-Fidelity environment.
• Defined standardized workflows, model building rules and interfaces enabling application in industrial design processes.
• Led validation and realistic use cases to demonstrate robustness and readiness up to TRL-4.

• Conducted High-Fidelity fluid-structure interaction simulations with detailed FEM models for local deformation effects.
• Delivered high-quality reference data for validation of the simplified and hybrid methods.
• Led the validation activities to assess accuracy and physical consistency of the overall process.

• Developed the core hydrodynamic modeling of water impact within the “ditch” solver.
• Implemented Low-Fidelity and hybrid FSI concepts to include structural deformation effects in fast simulations.
• Established quality management and robustness criteria for numerical stability and reliability.