Variable Fidelity Aeroelastic Toolkit - Structural Model

The proposed innovation is a methodology to incorporate variable fidelity structural models into steady and unsteady aeroelastic and aeroservoelastic analyses in order to utilize the appropriate level of fidelity for the problem at hand. Some aeroelastic problems require detailed finite element modeling of the structure and servoelastic systems, or a detailed FEM may be the only structural model available. Other problems, such as efficient modeling of wind tunnel models and flight vehicles or multidisciplinary optimization (MDO), benefit from the relative simplicity of reduced order structural models. The unique value of this innovation is the ability to rapidly and repeatedly handle the significant difficulty of moving from a detailed model to a reduced order model and then carrying any subsequent design or optimization changes back to the higher order detailed structural model. The proposed methodology will automate the process of projecting lower order model changes, for example after an MDO application, back to the original (source) higher order model. The methodology will contribute to integrated design optimization tools that can synergistically vary the simulation fidelity to find optimum solutions using design variables from more than one discipline.