The use of COSTADE in developing composite commercial aircraft fuselage structures

Composite Optimization Software for Transport Aircraft Design Evaluation (COSTADE) is being developed as a tool to support design build teams in their efforts to develop cost effective and feasible commercial aircraft fuselage structure. This paper contains a description of the development efforts of several of the major contributors to the code. The COSTADE tool currently contains a fabrication cost algorithm, structural analysis modules, a weight estimation module, manufacturing tolerance and constraint modules, and optimization algorithm modules. An application of COSTADE directed at evaluating and optimizing the ATCAS keel sandwich structure is outlined. Composite Optimization Software for Transport Aircraft Design Evaluation (COSTADE) is being developed by Boeing Commercial Aircraft Group in coordination with a number of subcontractors including the University of Washington (UW), Sikorsky Aircraft, Northrop, DowIUnited Technologies and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). COSTADE enables a design build team to quantify and explore the complex interactions associated with aircraft design criteria, fabrication cost, manufacturing constraints and structural weight. This initiative is part of the NASAIBoeing Advanced Technology Composite Aircraft Structures (ATCAS) program. The objective of the ATCAS program is to develop an integrated technology and demonstrate a confidence level that permits the cost and weight-effective use of advanced composite materials in commercial transport fuselage structures. This paper is the first in a session containing six papers detailing the present status, development efforts and applications performed by several of the major developers of COSTADE. The primary developers and their roles are shown in Table 1. Cost Structural Manufacturing Optimization Software Model Analysis Constraints Algorithms Frame-