The present research characterizes the damage that was caused by a collision between an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a representative lifting surface, such as a cylindrical rotor blade. Although much research has been conducted in the area related to bird strikes on aircraft surfaces and components, there has been little to no research conducted that directly studies the implications of striking a more rigid bodied UAV. If the damage created during the collision was characterized in more detail, the potential exists for risk mitigation associated with collisions between UAVs and larger aircraft. The risk of collision raises concerns for structural reliability of manned aircraft during flight after suffering a collision. An empirical model was developed that estimates structural damage for both colliding bodies within 6 percent discrepancies of the experimental observations. The analysis of high-speed camera footage allowed for evaluation of particle size distributions that resulted in a range of 0.01 square inches to 5.00 square inches.
