Aircraft conceptual design using genetic algorithms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the consideration of uncertainty from analysis modules for aircraft conceptual design by implementing uncertainty-based design optimization methods. Reliability-Based Design Optimization (RBDO), Possibility-Based Design Optimization (PBDO) and Robust Design Optimization (RDO) methods were developed to handle uncertainties of design optimization. The RBDO method is found suitable for uncertain parameters when sufficient information is available. On the other hand, the PBDO method is proposed when uncertain parameters have insufficient information. The RDO method can apply to both cases. The RBDO, PBDO and RDO methods were considered with the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) method to generate conservative design results when low fidelity analysis tools are used. Design/methodology/approach – Methods combining MDO with RBDO, PBDO and RDO were developed and have been applied to a numerical analysis and an aircraft conceptual design. This research eva...

On-orbit applications, such as active debris removal, satellite refueling, maintenance and satellite health diagnosis require the ability for low-cost spacecraft to closely inspect other orbital objects in a non-cooperative manner. During this kind of mission, the relative navigation process becomes of critical importance for guaranteeing safe and collision-free proximity operations and maneuvers. The selection of relative navigation sensors appears being a critical task as it might drive the design choices in other subsystems (e.g., Attitude and orbit control system (AOCS), payload, power supply). This paper aims at studying the application of a Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) method to the design of AOCS and Navigation subsystems under small satellite constraints. The porposed MDO process is based on the optimization of navigation performance and mass reduction while respecting volume and power constraints for orbital close rendezvous. The navigation chain, including sensor simulation and navigation filter is simulated and integrated into the design cost function. The proposed MDO process based on a Genetic Algorithm (GA) and on an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) aims at simplifying satellite design by determining a set of optimal admissible sensor combinations despite contradictory objectives on navigation and payload accuracy, mass reduction, power consumption and volume. Possible key advantages of the inclusion of the relative navigation subsystem within MDO process are the reduction of the design process time, the automation and optimization of the navigation architecture while respecting volume and power constraints of small satellites. A demonstration of the effectiveness of the proposed MDO method is provided on the benchmark of AVANTI mission.

Against the background of the big environmental and societal challenges as formulated for example in Flightpath 2050, current developments in aircraft design are aiming at further emission reduction through integrated, unconventional propulsion, systems and airframe innovations. This requires the further integration of methods for multidisciplinary modelling, analysis and optimization for aircraft design, but also for propulsion and system level designs. Moreover, experimental validation of the methods and physical testing of critical unconventional propulsion and system designs are prerequisites for industrially relevant development processes. This paper presents some key technologies for computationally efficient collaborative MDO (multidisciplinary design and optimization) frameworks for multidisciplinary design and validation of advanced aeronautic products like aircraft and propulsion systems.KeywordsMDOCollaborative engineeringBRICSMULTIFITSMR

Aircraft conceptual design is the very beginning of aircraft design process in which one or several aircraft configurations are created to meet the top-level requirements of aircraft. The aim of this paper is to build a more traceable, structured and systematic process of aircraft conceptual design by use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method. The conceptual design of a narrow body commercial aircraft is used as an example to illustrate application of the QFD. The top-level requirements of the commercial aircraft are defined. The conceptual design activities such as initial sizing of aircraft, wing configuration design, fuselage configuration design, and empennage configuration design are accomplished using House of Quality (HOQ). During initial sizing of aircraft, the top-level requirements of aircraft are converted into the requirements for aerodynamics, propulsion and weight with the aid of HOQ and constraint analysis. During configuration designs of the wing, fuselage and empennage, their requirements are identified based on the top-level requirements and output of the initial sizing, and consist of requirements of aerodynamics, structure, control, safety, operation, cost and etc. Several HOQs representing the relationships between the requirements and the configuration design parameters are created. After that, the configuration design parameters are selected with the aid of the HOQ and relevant design knowledges. By use of the QFD, aircraft conceptual design activities are represented by a number of the HOQ and the design process of configuration parameters is traceable through the HOQ. It is concluded that the QFD-based aircraft conceptual design is more traceable, structured and systematic than the traditional method.

The fully tailless configuration has lower observability, less structural weight and less drag, and it is considered one of the preferred designs for the next generation of efficient supersonic combat aircraft. In the conceptual design of such novel aircraft, a parametric geometry model is essential for multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization (MDAO). This paper presents a parametric three-dimensional (3D) geometry modeling methodology and tool for MDAO in the conceptual design of a notional supersonic tailless combat aircraft (STCA). The geometries of the STCA components (wing, fuselage and propulsion) are defined specifically by a set of parameters. In particular, the inlet and nozzle geometries are defined with the required details. Based on the geometric relationships among the STCA components, an approach involving master-dependent parameters is proposed. The geometry model generated by the approach has features such as the fuselage being blended smoothly with the wing and the propulsion being well integrated with the fuselage. Moreover, the geometry model can be generated by simply specifying the values of the master parameters, and the number of parameters required to generate the geometry model is reduced substantially. Based on the methodology, a parametric geometry modeling tool for the STCA conceptual design is developed using a Visual Basic (VB) script in the CATIA V5 platform. The applicability of the tool is validated with several case studies.

Modern aircraft design has reached a level of complexity where multiphysics coupling – the interaction of aerodynamic, structural, thermal, electromagnetic, and other physical domains – must be considered to achieve optimal performance and reliability. Traditional model-driven approaches, which rely on fundamental physics-based models and equations, struggle to fully capture these complex coupled phenomena and are often limited by modeling assumptions and computational expense. At the same time, purely data-driven approaches using big data and machine learning have emerged as powerful tools to identify patterns and optimize designs, but they can lack physical interpretability and require extensive data. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art methods for aircraft multiphysics coupling analysis and design optimization, bridging model-driven and data-driven paradigms. First, we introduce the concept of multiphysics coupling in aerospace engineering and discuss its inherent challenges and importance in modern design, citing industrial initiatives (e.g., digital engineering strategies and digital twin concepts) that underscore the need for integrated simulation. Next, we compare model-driven and data-driven approaches: model-driven methods (e.g., using computational fluid dynamics or finite element models) offer accuracy grounded in physics but cannot easily cover all aspects of highly complex systems, while data-driven methods (e.g., machine learning surrogates) excel at fitting complex relationships from data yet may sacrifice some accuracy or explanatory power. We highlight the historical transition from model-driven to data-driven techniques – for instance, the Monte Carlo method, first introduced during the Manhattan Project, enabled solving problems (like neutron diffusion) too complex for purely analytical models. Then, we examine modern hybrid approaches that integrate physics-based models with data-driven algorithms to leverage the strengths of both. Finally, we review optimization algorithms used for design in multiphysics contexts. Even with advanced models or data, effective design optimization often requires heuristic and evolutionary algorithms to navigate large design spaces with multiple conflicting objectives. We explain how heuristic algorithms can efficiently find “good enough” solutions without guaranteeing a global optimum, and how multi-objective optimization techniques (such as genetic algorithms and Pareto front analysis) are applied to balance trade-offs like weight vs. strength or efficiency vs. cost. This survey covers recent achievements in applying data-driven methods to complex coupled physics problems (e.g., using AI to predict structural and thermal behavior ), and discusses outstanding challenges such as ensuring model interpretability, improving computational efficiency, and managing sparse data. After reading this abstract, the reader should understand that this paper discusses why combining physics-based models with data-driven tools is essential for next-generation aircraft design, what methods exist to do so, and how optimization algorithms help achieve the best designs under multiphysics constraints.

Multidisciplinary aircraft design optimization and optimal trajectory analysis are both popular research topics, yet few studies have considered optimal flight-path analysis during the aircraft design process. This paper describes simultaneous aircraft and trajectory design optimization using the Optimizer-Based Decomposition (OBD) architecture for multidisciplinary optimization. The analysis used for this problem would be difficult to develop and run using a traditional unified architecture. The problem is decomposed both by discipline and by stages of the trajectory, creating a matrix of independent subproblems that each consist of a single discipline at one stage of the mission. This study, with high-fidelity analyses and many subproblems, demonstrates OBD as a practical, useful approach to real aerospace design problems.

It is necessary to employ the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) method in the design process of automatic weapon, because the process in itself is related to many disciplines and their couplings. The knowledge structure of MDO is analyzed, which includes mathematic modeling, system decomposition, optimization framework, approximation model, sensitivity analysis, optimization method, software integration, and etc.. The idea of using MDO in the design process of individual soldier automatic weapon is also explored. Based on the software package of iSIGHT, the primary multidisciplinary integration is carried out. Current research work will be helpful for further research on integrating MDO into the design of automatic weapon.

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The optimal design of multidisciplinary systems under uncertainty involves three types of iterative analyses- multidisciplinary analyses, reliability analyses, and optimization. If these processes are carried out in a nested manner in reliability based multidisciplinary design optimization (RBMDO), the computational expense can be enormous. Computationally efficient simultaneous analysis and design (SAND) or All-AtOnce methods have been developed earlier for deterministic MDO. Single loop RBDO methods have also been developed to integrate reliability analysis and optimization in a single loop. This paper develops a novel formulation of RBMDO problems with both system and component level reliability constraints. The formulation allows for solution with a single design optimization loop by using the KKT optimality conditions of the first-order reliability method (FORM) as constraints in the design optimization along with disciplinary consistency constraints. Alternative solution processes which remove the FORM MPP’s from the decision space and many constraints from the problem are developed. The alternative solution methods are more efficient and more robust than using nonlinear programming to solve the single loop formulation. A numerical example is solved with the two proposed solution algorithms. I. Introduction In the design of multidisciplinary systems it is often necessary to make decisions under uncertainty. This requires that multidisciplinary systems modeling be integrated with uncertainty analysis and optimization. A common example of such an engineering design application would be the design of an aircraft wing under uncertain aerodynamic loading conditions, with multiple structural components with uncertain capacities, such that the entire structural system achieves a prescribed level of reliability. The problem has coupled physics, in that the pressure distribution is dependent upon the deflection, and the deflection is dependent on the pressure distribution. Such designs have been performed using multidisciplinary optimization (MDO). Other examples where MDO may be applied include electronics packaging, in which the disciplines of heat transfer and circuit analysis are coupled, the design of new types of aircraft and integrating them into an existing fleet of aircraft, and even the management of interconnected homeland infrastructures. While MDO has matured with the development of different types of algorithms for various types of problems and design organizations, there has been little work to incorporate reliability analysis into MDO. However, system and component reliabilities are often a major concern in the design of multidisciplinary systems. MDO can be computationally expensive due to the need to achieve consistency across multiple disciplinary analysis codes; each disciplinary analysis code may be computationally expensive to run. Further, the optimal design of multidisciplinary systems under uncertainty involves three types of iterative procedures- multidisciplinary analyses, reliability analyses, and optimization. The integration of these three procedures is referred to in this paper as reliability based multidisciplinary design optimization (RBMDO). If these processes are carried out simultaneously, the computational expense can be enormous. Computational savings can often be achieved with simultaneous analysis and design (SAND) or All-At-Once methods, which allow for the solution of the multidisciplinary analyses and the optimization in one single loop. Single loop RBDO methods allow for the integration of reliability analysis and optimization in a single loop. Applying SAND and single-loop RBDO together may allow for large computational savings when applied to problems in RBMDO. This paper develops a novel formulation of RBMDO problems with both system and component level reliability constraints based on the SAND method for MDO and by use of the KKT conditions of the first order reliability method (FORM). The resulting formulation may be solved as a standard nonlinear programming problem. While the single loop formulation presented in this paper is a solution of the RBMDO problem, robustness and efficiency are improved through two improved algorithms which can remove the MPP’s from the decision space, thereby significantly reducing the optimizer’s workload.

Aircraft conceptual design traditionally utilizes simplified analysis methods and empirical equations to establish the basic layout of new aircraft. Applying optimization methods to aircraft conceptual design may yield solutions that are found to violate constraints when more sophisticated analysis methods are introduced. The designer's confidence that proposed conceptual designs will meet their performance target is limited when conventional optimization approaches are utilized. Therefore, there is a need for an optimization approach that takes into account the uncertainties that arise when traditional analysis methods are used in aircraft conceptual design optimization. This research introduces a new aircraft conceptual design optimization approach that utilizes the concept of Reliability Based Design Optimization (RBDO). RyeMDO, a framework for multi-objective, multi-disciplinary RBDO was developed for this purpose. The performance and effectiveness of the RBDO-MDO approaches implemented in RyeMDO were evaluated to identify the most promising approaches for aircraft conceptual design optimization. Additionally, an approach for quantifying the errors introduced by approximate analysis methods was developed. The approach leverages available historical data to quantify the uncertainties introduced by approximate analysis methods in two engineering case studies: the conceptual design optimization of an aircraft wing box structure and the conceptual design optimization of a commercial aircraft. The case studies were solved with several of the most promising RBDO-MDO integrated approaches. The proposed approach yields more conservative solutions and estimates the risk associated with each solution, enabling designers to reduce the likelihood that conceptual aircraft designs will fail to meet objectives later in the design process.

The primary objective of this study is to solve the Vehicle Routing Problem with Stochastic Demands (VRPSD) under restocking policy by using adaptive Genetic Algorithm (GA). The problem of VRPSD is one of the most important and studied combinatorial optimization problems, which finds its application on wide ranges of logistics and transportation area. It is a variant of a Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). The algorithms for stochastic VRP are considerably more intricate than deterministic VRP and very time consuming. This has led us to explore the used of metaheuristics focusing on the permutation-based GA. The GA is enhanced by automatically adapting the mutation probability to capture dynamic changing in population. The GA becomes a more effective optimizer where the adaptive schemes are depend on population diversity measure. The proposed algorithm is compared with standard GA on a set of randomly generated problems following some discrete probability distributions inspired by real case of VRPSD in solid waste collection in Malaysia. The performances of several types of adaptive mutation probability were also investigated. Experimental results show performance enhancements when adaptive GA is used.

In order to study the prediction and optimization of borehole stability parameters in deepwater drilling based on genetic algorithm. First, a genetic hybrid algorithm based on pattern search is proposed. Then, based on the adaptive genetic algorithm, the evolutionary population is searched for patterns, which makes the hybrid algorithm not only has a strong global search ability but also improves the local optimization accuracy. Finally, the unit footage cost in the drilling process is taken as the objective function, and the algorithm is verified by taking the drilling in Karamay area as an example. The calculation results show that if the bit wear reaches 0.8-0.9 and then the bit is pulled out, the utilization rate of the bit can be increased, the design efficiency and accuracy can be improved, and the drilling cost can be reduced. The wear amount of the optimized bit is higher than that of the actual bit. Increasing the utilization rate of the bit can reduce the cost of drilling meters to a certain extent and improve the economic benefits of drilling. The objective function and constraint conditions for the optimization of drilling parameters are determined, and the algorithm is verified with the drilling data of Karamay Oilfield. The results show that the algorithm improves the stability and speed of iterative convergence and improves the reliability of data analysis results. Based on the regional three-dimensional formation rock parameter data volume, the optimization method can be used to optimize the drilling parameters before drilling and provide a basis for formulating the drilling design scheme.

Design of haptic devices requires trade-off between many conflicting requirements, such as high stiffness, large workspace, small inertia, low actuator force/torque, and a small size of the device. With the traditional design and optimization process, it is difficult to effectively fulfill the system requirements by separately treating the different discipline domains. To solve this problem and to avoid sub-optimization, this work proposes a design methodology, based on Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) methods and tools, for design optimization of six degree-of-freedom (DOF) haptic devices for medical applications, e.g. simulators for surgeon and dentist training or for remote surgery. The proposed model-based and simulation-driven methodology aims to enable different disciplines and subsystems to be included in the haptic device optimization process by using a robust model architecture that integrates discipline-specific models in an optimization framework and thus enables automation of design activities in the concept and detail design phase. Because of the multi-criteria character of the performance requirements, multi-objective optimization is included as part of the proposed methodology. Because of the high-level requirements on haptic devices for medical applications in combination with a complex structure, models such as CAD (Computer Aided Design), CAE (Computer Aided Engineering), and kinematic models are considered to be integrated in the optimization process and presenting a systems view to the design engineers. An integration tool for MDO is used as framework to manage, integrate, and execute the optimization process. A case study of a 6-DOF haptic device based on a TAU structure is used to illustrate the proposed methodology. With this specific case, a Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) with an initial population based on a pseudo random SOBOL sequence and Monte Carlo samplings is used for the optimization.

This paper presents a study of aircraft featuring truss-braced wing configurations that have been optimized for minimum fuel consumption using multidisciplinary design optimization. The investigation proceeds following an earlier Boeing Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research study, which selected the truss-braced wing concept as the most promising of several concept vehicles. This comes from the fact that a significantly higher-aspect-ratio wing could achieve substantial reductions in induced drag but requires major structural changes to support such a large span. This problem was explored through the use of a multidisciplinary design and analysis environment implemented in ModelCenter®. Optimization was performed using ModelCenter’s Design Explorer and Darwin genetic algorithm optimizers. Using the multidisciplinary environment, a large multidimensional design space, featuring design variables spread across the major aircraft design disciplines, was explored. Configurations featuring a strut-braced wing and truss-braced wings with one and two juries were evaluated for different span limits. Subsequently, different laminar wing design options were investigated in conjunction with lift augmentation system options. The multidisciplinary optimization used for this investigation was able to produce candidate designs with the desired attributes and performance improvements while satisfying all relevant geometric and performance constraints.