Variable-Fidelity Aerostructural Optimization Framework for Adaptive Aircraft Design and Evaluation

Adaptive aircraft have the potential for significantly expanded operational envelopes when compared to conventional fixed configuration aircraft. Optimization-based design of these vehicles necessitates the use of validated coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) tools that account for both aerodynamics and structural properties, which exhibit interdependence with aerodynamics. Traditional FSI tools require substantial computational resources to converge to a coupled solution, and overhead to support development of appropriate CAD geometry and CFD grids. These requirements scale considerably during optimization. Continuum Dynamics, Inc. (CDI), and the University of Michigan (UM) propose to develop an efficient variable-fidelity aerostructural analysis and optimization capability for adaptive aircraft design, trade space assessment, and evaluation in practical mission scenarios. The end product will be distribution-ready software that leverages aerostructural capabilities developed by both CDI and UM and draws on UMÆs extensive expertise in multidisciplinary design optimization methods and CDIÆs experience in designing smart material based adaptive lifting surfaces (6 U.S. patents). The tool will allow Army personnel to obtain optimal morphed configurations for specified missions and to evaluate the performance, controllability, and maneuverability of these configurations in representative mission scenarios. We successfully assembled and demonstrated a prototype of the framework in Phase I.