Advanced Software Tool for Integrated Analysis and Design Optimization of Aerospace Systems

The growing complexity of aerospace systems has given rise to increased susceptibility to failure as a result of improper integration of the design and optimization of components. Therefore, a critical need exists for improved analysis and optimization methods for modeling, evaluating, and optimizing synthesis/design and performance. Thaerocomp Technical Corporation (TTC) is proposing to develop and commercialize an advanced, high-fidelity, innovative software tool for system-level integration of synthesis/design analysis and large-scale optimization of aerospace systems. Exergy and traditional energy methods will be integrated with an engineering database and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modules to obtain accurate design data for some of the components of the aircraft system. This approach will significantly streamline the analysis and optimization process, helping to minimize ground-based testing; and substantially reduce certification time and costs. The TTC product will be the first commercially available software tool to support physical decomposition-based iterative local-global optimization. Furthermore, the exergy component of the proposed tool will guarantee that the loss mechanisms in every subsystem component can be related to overall system requirements in a framework of common metrics. All required levels of design activity will be supported in a unified fashion, from conceptual comparisons through to the final configuration, leading to system-level optimized syntheses/designs.