Aircraft configuration design using a multidisciplinary optimization approach

Abstract

At the conceptual phase of an aircraft design process, the aim is to determine the set of design features such as configuration arrangement, planform geometry, wing area, engine configuration and weight that meet various performance characteristics. Multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) at this phase allows the designer to consider various options via simultaneous interactions of aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, stability and flight mechanics to arrive at better designs. Earlier attempts with MDO seek to optimize a design for a predetermined aircraft configuration or optimize a base design for different mission profiles. In this paper, we propose a MDO framework for conceptual aircraft design that considers different aircraft configurations simultaneously. The advantage of this approach is to allow the evolution of various aircraft configurations. The optimization algorithm used in the framework is based on computational intelligence which is a stochastic, zero-order, population based algorithm, especially suitable for multi-objective, constrained optimization problems involving computationally expensive functions. The work is aimed at providing insights in how different mission requirements dictate configuration choices. In the present work we study the evolution of different two-seater, propeller driven aircraft configurations for different mission requirements and we limit it to two configurations namely, conventional wing-tail and canard configurations.